I Like Me Better
by Rosanya
Summary: Sequel to One Thing Right! Ellie is a little older and causing all sorts of mischief in the bunker. Not completely necessary that you read OTR to understand this, but I'll have it linked in the first chapter just in case. I only own Ellie! Part 2 of my Ellie!Verse.
1. Chapter 1

s/13455608/1/One-Thing-Right

As promised, there's the link for OTR. Pretty please leave me some reviews! : )

"Ellie?"

Sam walked through the doorway of the library, his eyes scanning the room. He sighed and placed his hands on his hips, pursing his lips. He continued calling her name as he walked towards the war room, searching in there as well.

"Eleanor," his tone changed from normal to low and gravely. Just as he was about to yell again, a lanky twelve year old jumped out from the hallway.

"Boo!"

Sam just raised an eyebrow at his daughter and tilted his head, not scared in the slightest. She pouted her bottom lip out and jogged over to him, her long wavy hair bouncing into her face.

"You know, you could at least pretend to be afraid," she mumbled, crossing her arms.

Sam leaned forward, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "I'm a hunter, El. I'm not afraid of anything."

"Liar," she scoffed, swatting his hand away as he continued to try and fix her hair, "Clowns."

"Shut it," he gently pushed her shoulder, making her smile. "Aren't you supposed to be studying?"

"I already did," she mumbled, walking past him into the library. She meandered up to one of the bookshelves and skimmed it with her finger, landing on a book about Sirens. Just as she crooked her finger into the binding to pull it out, Sam grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"You know the rules," he lowered her hand, "No hunting until your school work is done."

"It's just a stupid math test," she groaned, yanking her hand out of his grasp. "I won't even need math in real life."

Sam took a deep breath, watching his preteen walk to the library table and prop her feet up on it. As much as he had tried over the last four years to avoid it, she had developed more of Dean's traits than Sam would have liked. Between the attitude and thirst for sweets, she seemed more like a Mini Dean than his own child. As she looked up at him, though, he couldn't help but chuckle. More often than not, it was like looking into a mirror. The older she got, the more and more she looked like him. Her hair was the same color as his, albeit much longer now. The almost-curls that were present when she was younger had developed into loose waves as her hair grew out. Then there were the eyes, those beautiful hazel orbs that she still used to try to get the men to do something for her, or most often to try and get out of trouble. While Sam and mostly Dean had grown immune, Cass still had a hard time saying no to her when she frowned at him and fluttered her long eyelashes.

"Hello," Ellie waving her hand in front of his face brought Sam out of his daydream. He shook his head and leaned over her in the chair, resting a hand on each armrest as he came close to her face.

"Go study," he whispered, his eyes narrowed, "Now."

She cocked an eyebrow and stared at him for a brief moment before rolling her eyes dramatically, sighing. "Fine."

He smirked and leaned forward, kissing her nose. Ellie quickly wiped it off with a disgusted look on her face before sliding off the chair and heading towards her bedroom. Sam heard Dean chuckling from the doorway to the garage and turned towards the noise.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Dean smiled, "Just makes me laugh when you go all 'big bad dad' on her."

"Shut up," Sam shook his head, sitting in the chair and leaning back. "How was the hunt? The vamp nest?"

Dean shrugged, pulling his gun out from his waist band and clearing the chamber, "Fine, Claire got a little machete crazy but that's just Claire."

Sam chuckled as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. He swiveled the chair back and forth as he continued laying back in it, sighing.

"How were things here?" Dean was almost afraid to ask. He knew that he had left Sam and Ellie alone for over four days, and while it's not like they were going to literally kill each other, the preteen had become much more rambunctious the last few weeks.

"Oh, you know," Sam inhaled deeply, "Ellie has a math test tomorrow that she's been refusing to study for, and I found her messing with one of my knives in her room the other day."

"Maybe she just doesn't need to study," Dean shrugged. "You were always good at math."

Sam dropped his arms and turned his head to look at his brother, "I've gone over her homework. She needs to study. She keeps using the excuse that 'hunters don't need math'."

"That is true," Dean muttered, ignoring the glare he received from his brother. "What? I can't do algebra."

"But the whole point here is to make sure that she's educated so that if she decides she doesn't want to hunt she has the background to be able to go to college," Sam stood up, rubbing his hand down his face.

"I know," Dean replied, holding his hands up in a defensive manner, "I just don't think she's going to change her mind about hunting."

"We'll see," Sam mumbled, biting his lip. "I need to go get some groceries, can you keep an eye on her?"

"Why don't you take her with you?"

Sam turned slowly back to look at Dean, his head tilted forward as he glared at his brother, "You know why."

Dean tried to stop the smile that creeped up on his face before he shook his head and threw his arms forward, "Yeah, okay, I'll watch her."

The last few times that Sam had taken Ellie with him on a grocery run, she spent the entire time sneaking junk food into the cart. Most of the time he was able to catch it and throw it back onto the shelves, but eventually Ellie developed a plan where she would put it under her coat in the cart so Sam wouldn't notice until it was being placed on the belt to check out, where it was far too late to put it back. When they would arrive home, and Dean would help take the items out of the bags, he would always high five Ellie when she was able to get things like Oreos or bags of gummy bears.

Dean watched as Sam went to the garage, then made his way down the hall. He needed a shower, bad, but he had to let Ellie know what was going on first. As he came to her doorway, he knocked on the wall to let her know that he was there.

"Hold on," she squeaked, trying to throw the door shut. Once Dean quickly realized that she was fully clothed and not in danger, he threw his hand out to stop the door from shutting. He looked at her and dropped his shoulders dramatically, his eyebrows raising.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Ellie shoved her hands behind her back, but it wasn't quick enough. Dean had already noticed the shiny glint of metal as he walked in the room.

"Nothing," she smiled sweetly, backing up as he slowly walked towards her.

Dean held out his hand, sighing. "Give it to me."

"Give what to you?" she challenged, shrugging her shoulders just before her back hit the wall.

"Eleanor," Dean hissed, placing one hand on his hip and the other out in front of him as he stood close to her, their toes just barely touching. Ellie knew she was in trouble, because while her father used her full name often lately, her uncle _never_ used it. She moaned before pulling her hands out from behind her back, pushing the closed switch blade into Dean's open hand.

"There," she grunted, crossing her arms and looking anywhere but his face.

"Ellie, you can't be messing around with stuff like this," Dean sighed, backing away from her. He hated being the bad guy.

"It's just a knife," she muttered, shrugging her shoulders. "Not like I'm playing with guns."

Dean pointed a finger in her face, "You'd better not touch my guns."

"I said I wasn't, god," she shoved his finger away before walking over and plopping down onto her bed.

"You're supposed to be studying for some test, anyway," Dean shoved the blade into his pocket and leaned against the wall.

"I hate math," Ellie whispered, grabbing her laptop and placing it on her legs.

"Too bad," Dean walked over and rubbed the top of her head, knowing how much it aggravated her when he messed with her hair. She immediately wiggled away from his reach and tried to smooth her hair, glaring at him. "Your dad ran to the store, and I need a shower, so be good."

"Whatever," she mumbled, waving a hand as he left the room.

Dean walked into the hallway and stopped, leaning against the wall outside her bedroom. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breathes, shaking his head. They had known early on that Ellie would be a handful as she got older, but damn, the kid wasn't even a teenager yet and she was already a run for their money. Jody had been texting both Sam and Dean frequently lately, warning them that Ellie was getting to the age of hormones and, ugh, puberty, but Dean kept ignoring the texts. He didn't want to think of his cute little niece as becoming a woman any time soon.

"I'm not going to make it to her next birthday," Dean whispered as he walked down the hallway to the bathroom, running his hands through his hair.

As Dean walked out of the bathroom rubbing a towel on his hair he saw Sam stalking down the hallway towards him. He had texted him about Ellie having yet another knife in her room, and Sam was obviously pissed about it.

"Hold up," Dean held his hands out, pressing against his brother's chest.

"Stop Dean, let me go talk to her," Sam tried to move around him to no avail.

"No, you're going to go yell at her," Dean put his hands out to the side, effectively stopping Sam from moving further.

"And?"

Dean tilted his head and sighed, "She's never going to tell us anything if we keep yelling at her every time she does anything wrong."

Sam scoffed, crossing his arms, "So what do you suggest, we just let her do whatever she wants?"

"No, dick," Dean glared, "I already laid into her about it, she doesn't need to hear it from you too."

Sam let his shoulders relax as he looked at his brother with pursed lips. After a moment, he sighed and shook his head. He knew Dean was right. She would be a teenager in less than a month, and they needed to work on building a more trusting relationship with her. Sam reached out and patted Dean's shoulder before turning around and heading back for the library.

Dean let out a long breath, moving to the doorway of his room and tossing the towel inside. He then walked down the hall to Ellie's room, smiling as he saw her laying on her stomach on her bed, a math book open next to her.

"How's it going?" he slowly walked in, resting his hands in his pockets.

Ellie's eyes glanced up quickly before looking back to her book. "Fine, I guess."

"You know," Dean cleared his throat, "Your dad was always really good at math."

"I know," she muttered, reaching up and running her fingers in her hair to push it back out of her face. "I don't think he'd be a good teacher though."

Dean chuckled, moving to sit on the edge of her bed. "Can I tell you a secret?"

Ellie nodded, not really paying attention to her uncle. Dean sensed this and pulled her math book towards him, forcing her gaze to meet his.

"Your dad didn't always want to be a hunter."

"I know," Ellie moaned, rolling over onto her back, "He was going to be a lawyer."

Dean reached over and flicked her forehead, "But before that, he wanted to be a teacher."

Ellie raised an eyebrow, turning on her side and leaning on her elbow. "Really?"

"Yup," Dean nodded, handing her book back to her before standing up. "And can you guess what subject he wanted to teach?"

Ellie looked down at the book in her hands, then back to Dean's eyes. She raised her eyebrows in question and Dean merely nodded, shrugging. Ellie chuckled softly to herself before rolling off the side of her bed onto her feet. Dean watched as she carried her book to the hallway, presumably to go find Sam. He waited in her room for a moment, sighing as he looked around. The doll house from her seventh birthday was long gone, donated to a family in need, and replaced with magazines and the few pieces of make up that Alex had bought her. There were pictures all over her walls, of her with their extended family. A few snapshots from her sleepovers at Jody's, even several images of her with Crowley and Rowena.

Dean's favorites, however, would always be the row of photos above her bed from her first few weeks at the bunker. The picture of her and Cass mowing down on their bowls of ice cream, flanked by a photo of her sick and laying on top of Dean. The middle pictures were a bunch of her with her dad in different moments, between eating a spaghetti noodle or dancing to AC/DC. Despite her growing older and developing such a strong personality, she always kept one frame on her bedside table. It was the very first picture of Ellie and her father together, with him holding her in his arms tightly, one hand on her head and the other on her back.

Dean smiled as he turned and walked out of the room. As he neared the library, he chuckled to himself listening to the conversation taking place.

"But why does it cancel out?"

"Because it does."

"But _why_?"

"Because that's how math works."

Dean came around the corner, smirking as he watched Sam leaned over the table where Ellie sat with her head in her hands. He leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed as he listened to Sam explain the problem to her. At first, Ellie was whining and moaning every time she got an answer wrong, but after Sam used some real world examples she seemed to finally be understanding. When she got her first problem correct without help from Sam, her eyes lit up as she looked up at him.

"I did it?"

Sam smiled down at her, nodding. "You sure did. Good job."

Ellie lunged off of her chair, wrapping her arms around Sam's neck. He froze for a moment before closing his eyes and squeezing her tightly. It had been so long since she initiated a hug, so you could bet your sweet ass he was savoring this moment. When he opened his eyes and met his brother's gaze, he simply smiled and tucked his chin into Ellie's neck, rubbing his beard on it like he always did when he wanted to tickle her. Ellie squealed and tried to pull away, but Sam's grip only tightened. He continued his assault on her neck as her legs flailed and her arms tried to push against his chest, her sharp breathing only coming in spurts in between laughter.

"Dad stop," she screeched, trying to hide her smile as she managed to slide down out of his grasp.

Sam grinned down at her as she scrambled to her feet, holding her hands out in front of her in a defensive manner. He raised his eyebrows and slowly lifted his hands, a dangerous sparkle in his eyes.

"I'm serious Dad, don't," Ellie whined, her smile deceiving her fake bravado. She tucked her elbows down into her sides, knowing that her father was well aware of her most ticklish spot.

Sam waited just a few seconds before launching forward, chasing her when she ran away from him. Ellie screamed as she ran towards Dean, looking into his eyes with a smile as she prepared to run past him. He instead moved to block her in, looking down at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he grabbed her upper arms, holding her still.

"Sorry squirt," he chuckled before turning her around and shoving her directly into Sam's waiting hands.


	2. Chapter 2

Ellie ran into the kitchen, smiling when she saw her father and uncles sitting at the table, each nursing a beer. She clasped her hands in front of her and slowly walked towards them, her head tilted down so she could look at them through her batting eyelashes.

"Daddy," she said quietly, looking at Sam with a slight pout on her bottom lip.

"Oh boy," Sam cleared his throat, turning in his chair to face her. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to tell you how much I love you," Ellie shook her head, smiling sweetly as she looked at him. When Sam was seated, Ellie was almost at his eye level.

"Mhmm," Sam snorted, "Nice try. What do you really want?"

Ellie sighed, her shoulders drooping as she dropped her facade. "I found a case."

"What?" Dean raised an eyebrow, his beer pausing at his lips. "What are you talking about?"

"I may have done some googling," Ellie tilted her head and grinned at her uncle. "Three students have vanished from East Middle School in Wichita."

"That doesn't necessarily mean that it's a case, Ellie," Cass spoke up from his seat.

"It does when the first student's body was just found, missing her heart," Ellie pulled her phone from her back pocket and turning the screen to show the three men.

"Okay, so werewolf," Dean sighed before taking a long swig of his beer.

"And for some reason they seem to be targeting young teenage girls," Ellie pointedly look at her father, taking a deep breath.

Sam made eye contact with her and scoffed. He knew exactly where this was going. He shook his head so hard it almost made him dizzy, and he stood up and pushed his way past Ellie to get another beer.

"Absolutely not."

"But Dad," Ellie turned and followed him to the fridge, her eyes pleading, "I can help."

"I said no," he responded, his upper half bent as he reached to the back of the refrigerator.

"I know you think I'm just a kid, but I know I can do this," her voice was getting louder and louder with each word, her eyes turned down in a frown.

"You are a kid," Sam shouted, whipping around to face her. He leaned down so he was only mere inches from her nose, his chest heaving with deep breathes. "I. Said. No."

Ellie scrunched her face in anger and turned on her heels, running from the room. Sam closed his eyes and sighed loudly before walking back over to the table where Dean and Cass were exchanging concerned looks.

"Sammy," Dean began, taking a big breath. He knew this conversation wasn't going to go well, but he knew he had to try. "It might be worth thinking abou—"

"I am not letting my twelve year old be used as bait for a werewolf," Sam hissed, looking at his beer bottle, "End of discussion."

Dean nodded, shooting Cass a quick glance before he got up and stretched. "I'm going to go hit the hay, see you in the morning."

"Night," Cass said quietly, trying to gauge Sam's emotions. "Sam—"

"I said I don't want to talk about it, Cass," he whispered, using his thumbnail to peel off the label of his beverage.

"I understand your reaction," Cass gave him a small smile. "I still see Ellie as the young girl with pigtails making us have dance parties as well."

Sam exhaled as much air out of his lungs as he could, trying to stop his breath from shaking. "She's twelve, Cass. Twelve. I can't be taking her out on hunts."

"You and I both know that Ellie demonstrates intelligence far beyond her years," Cass still spoke quietly, twirling his own beer bottle on its bottom. "I do fear, however, that if we don't start letting her do more she'll find a way to do it on her own."

"I know," Sam sniffed, biting his lip.

"And if that does happen, she won't be as safe as she would be with the three of us," the angel reached out and gently placed a hand on Sam's forearm, forcing the hunter to look up at him. Sam shook his head, chuckling softly to himself.

"I was younger than her when Dad gave me my first gun," Sam mumbled. "She's been begging me to let her have one."

Cass squirmed in his seat, his eyes looking around the kitchen as he tried to avoid Sam's eyes. The hunter cleared his throat, giving the angel a look of knowing.

"I know Dean's been letting her shoot in the range, Cass."

"Oh good," Cass sighed in relief, "I don't like keeping secrets from you."

"Yeah well, Dean's not as good at keeping a secret as he thinks he is," Sam chuckled.

"She's..." Cass trailed off, trying to gauge Sam's feelings about it before continuing, "She's a very good shot."

Sam closed his eyes and shook his head, allowing a small smile on his face. "Runs in the family."

Dean walked up to Ellie's closed door, his head whipping back and forth to make sure no one was around before he knocked quietly.

"Go away."

"It's me, squirt," Dean leaned his forehead against the door, speaking gently. He heard a small amount of commotion before the door swung open, revealing an angry preteen with her arms crossed.

"What do you want?"

"Hey," Dean held his hands up in defense, "What are you mad at me for?"

Ellie rolled her eyes, then turned and walked over to her bed. "You didn't even try and help me convince him."

Dean scoffed as he walked over to her desk, his fingers running over the many papers laid out. They were all photocopies from lore books, with notes written all over the pages. Her love for research had always reminded him of Sam.

"You and I both know that when your dad sets his mind on something, there's no changing it."

"It's not fair," Ellie mumbled, bringing her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. "You know I could do it. I can shoot a gun and I can fight."

"That's not all there is to it, Ellie," Dean ran a hand down his face. "You know that."

"But still," Ellie groaned, "I could protect myself."

Dean sighed loudly, looking at the girl in front of him. Her eyes stayed glued to the floor as she glared, her eyebrows furrowed. When she got into these moods was when she reminded Dean of Sam the most. She was angry at the world, and nothing anyone could say would change her mindset.

"You want to go box?"

Ellie's head stayed still but her eyes shot over to her uncle. She tried to conceal the small smile that was trying to form on her face.

"I bet you'd feel better if you hit something right now," Dean clapped his hands as he walked to the doorway. He turned around to see if she agreed and laughed when he realized she was directly behind him, her eyes bright with excitement. He shook his head and turned to walk down the hall, chuckling when she pushed past him and ran towards the gym.

Sam came around the corner and got hit by a running Ellie, and he grabbed her shoulders to make sure she was okay.

"Where are you running off to?"

"To the gym with Uncle Dean," she wiggled out of his grasp and shoved past him.

Sam raised an eyebrow as his brother came down the hall. "Really? I thought you were going to bed."

"She needs to punch something," Dean shrugged. "I know of someone else who gets like that."

"Yeah," Sam scoffed, "You."

"Oh please," Dean exhaled sharply, "You're the reason we even have a punching bag."

"That's for exercise," Sam muttered before turning his head and making sure Ellie was out of earshot. "Listen, I want to talk to you about something."

"Make it quick, you know your kid is not a patient person."

Sam pursed his lips before inhaled deeply. "It's about Ellie hunting."

Dean raised his eyebrows, taken aback. "Really?"

"I think we should take her with us on the werewolf case," Sam leaned forward and whispered. "Not to use her as bait, but just to get her feet wet."

"Seriously?" Dean was the most surprised he'd been in a long time. He knew that Cass probably had something to do with this, and made a mental note to thank the angel later. "Well shit."

"I have some ground rules though," Sam stuck his hands in his pockets, "But we can talk about that later."

"You want to be the one to tell her?" Dean asked as he slowly walked past his brother.

Sam shook his head, "Nah, you can. She's not my biggest fan right now."

"Yeah, and this might help that situation," Dean held his hands out. Sam shook his head again and shrugged before walking down the hallway.

"We'll leave in the morning," the younger Winchester headed for his bedroom, needing a little time to himself to think about everything that was going to occur in the next day.

"Suit yourself," Dean mumbled before turning back and hurrying to the gym. When he arrived, he saw Ellie wrapping her hands with a determined look on her face. He sighed, deciding to wait until she had relieved some of her anger before telling her the good news.

"You ready?" Ellie saw him walking in and finished wrapping her knuckles, jumping up on her feet and bouncing around a couple times.

Dean nodded, "Get your gloves."

"Don't need 'em," she muttered before thrusting the training mitts into Dean's chest. "Let's go."

Dean rolled his eyes dramatically before sliding his hands into the mitts. Lately Ellie had been insistent on not wearing boxing gloves, stating that since she wouldn't have them in real life she didn't want to train with them anymore. Although her knuckles seemed permanently bruised, she continued to tell the three men that she was fine and would even refuse to let Cass heal her hands.

"Alright," Dean held his hands up as Ellie began throwing punches, ducking at the right times when he would swipe an arm out at her. Dean couldn't help but smile as she continued, because although she'd been learning to fight since she was six years old, her abilities still amazed him sometimes.

"I gotta tell you something," he grunted as she continued her assault, her eyes focused on the mitts on his hands.

"Not now," she growled, throwing a particularly hard jab.

"Yes now," he tried dropping his hands, only to have to perform a defensive maneuver when she reached up and grabbed the back of his neck and tried to pull him to the floor. He bent quickly and yanked his head back, dropping the mitts and holding his hands up. "Ellie stop."

"Make me," she turned and attempted to roundhouse kick her uncle. Dean, being the more experienced fighter, instead grabbed her ankle and twisted it, effectively bringing her to the ground. He shoved her backwards onto the floor, still holding her foot at an awkward angle.

"Knock it off," he shouted, looking down at her with an angry expression. Ellie's body heaved with strong breathes before she shook her foot out of his grip and sat on the floor looking up at him.

"Fine, what?"

Dean dropped his arms, bending his neck and cracking it. He sighed and rested his hands on his hips, pursing his lips.

"I just talked to your dad."

Ellie groaned and rolled to her feet, walking away from Dean. She began to unwrap her hands, giving them a good shake as the tension released.

"And what, he told you to be careful with his baby girl?" she smirked sarcastically, looking down at her hands.

"Ellie," Dean spoke quietly, but with a stern tone. She slowly turned and looked at him, her jaw tightened. "He's letting you go with us."

"What?"

"To Wichita," Dean continued, nodding. "The werewolf case."

"You're lying," she frowned at first, but once Dean kept nodding and shrugging his shoulders, a smile appeared on her face. "Are you serious?"

"Yup," Dean slid his hands into his pockets, smiling as the happiness took over her whole body. She was biting her lips to keep from squealing, and was almost vibrating as she bounced on her heels. Ellie took a big breath and ran over to him, her arms outstretched.

"Go thank your dad, not me," he held his hands up, stopping her from giving him a hug. "In my opinion, you've been a little too bratty lately to get to go on a hunt, but he's the boss. At least when it comes to you."

Ellie raised an eyebrow at him giving him a quick smirk before she ran around him to the hallway.

Sam was just leaving his bedroom, running a hand through his hair when he was run into again. He looked down and saw the familiar head of brown hair pushed against his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

"Thank you thank you thank you," she squealed, squeezing as tight as she could. Sam smiled before giving her a quick hug back, then grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from him.

"We're going to have plenty of rules, though," he looked at her with a serious face.

"Okay, I'll follow them, I promise," she jumped up and down, her smile so big her eyes were crinkled.

"Don't say that until you hear them," Sam chuckled, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. "For now, it's time for bed. We leave in the morning."

"Okay," she said eagerly, running down the hallway and sliding into her bedroom. Sam shook his head with his eyes closed. Ellie had never voluntarily gone to bed that easily. As he walked towards the kitchen to discuss the case with Cass and Dean, Sam couldn't help but wonder if he was making the right decision.

"What the hell have I done?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Shotgun!" Ellie shouted as she ran towards the impala in the garage. Sam and Dean had just finished loading up the trunk, with Cass in his usual seat in the back.

"Nice try," Sam reached around Ellie's waist, pushing her hand off of the door handle. "You're in the back."

"Uncle Dean," she whipped her head around and whined to her uncle, who held his hands up.

"I'm not getting in the middle of this."

Ellie turned back to Sam and narrowed her eyes, groaning when he crossed his arms and gave her the exact same look.

"Fine," she mumbled, sliding into the backseat. "I'll just sit back here and have fun with Uncle Cass."

"I sense a small amount of sarcasm, Ellie," Cass looked at her with his usual confused stare, his head tilted slightly.

"You know I'm kidding," she smiled at him, reaching out and gently shoving him to the seat behind the driver.

"I think now's a good time to discuss the rules," Sam cleared his throat once they were on the road. He turned in his seat to try and make eye contact with Ellie, who had her nose stuffed in a book about werewolves. He cleared his throat again, this time louder, and then reached out and snatched the book out of her hands.

"Hey," she yelled, sighing when she saw her father glaring at her. "Fine. Go."

"First rule," Sam held up one finger, "No going _anywhere_ by yourself."

"Okay," she shrugged.

"Second, you can help us with research and making phone calls, but no field work."

"What? Oh come on," she moaned, leaning forward to rest her arms on the back of Sam's seat.

"Sit back," Sam mumbled, poking her in the forehead before twisting his neck further and looking at her abdomen. "Do you even have your seatbelt on?"

"Sure."

"Put your seatbelt on."

"It is on," she reached down and showed him where the piece of fabric was stretched along her hips.

"Put it on the right way," Sam pushed off his feet to lean back, pulling the shoulder portion out from behind her back.

"Uncle Dean doesn't wear his," Ellie huffed, leaning back and crossing her arms.

Sam sighed and looked over to his brother, narrowing his eyes. Dean glanced from the road to Sam, then moaned and reached back, pulling his seatbelt over his chest and buckling it.

"Happy?" he moved his head so he could make eye contact with Ellie in the rearview mirror. Ellie smirked and raised her eyebrows, nodding.

"So back to the rules," Sam cleared his throat.

"What are you guys going to do if you have to talk to someone at the school?" Ellie sat up.

"Then we'll talk to them like we always do," Dean shrugged.

"And I'm sure a bunch of thirteen year old girls will tell you guys everything they know," Ellie snorted, leaning forward again in her seat and resting her elbows on the seat back. "Because you three are _so_ good at talking to young girls."

"Hey," Dean whipped his head around to look at her, "I talk to you just fine."

"Because I'm your niece," she scoffed, "You can't bribe these girls with a trip to the shooting range to get them to do what you want."

Dean froze, his eyes shooting from the road to his brother, who rolled his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm not stupid, Dean," Sam chuckled, "I've known for months."

Dean pursed his lips, taking a deep breath as he continued keeping his gaze on the road ahead. He figured that his brother would find out about his secret gun training with Ellie sooner or later, but he was hoping for the 'later'.

"Listen man—"

"I'm not worried about it," Sam mumbled, looking at his phone.

Ellie slowly reached her hand to Sam's shoulder, gently tapping it twice. He turned his head slightly, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"I'm really good," she whispered, giving him one of her megawatt smiles when he fully turned and looked at her. "I never miss."

"She's not lying," Dean spoke carefully, not knowing how deep into this Sam wanted to get. "I think she might be a better shot than you were at her age."

"See?" Ellie nodded eagerly, still giving her father a huge smile. He shook his head with a grin, poking her forehead.

"Sit back."

"What are the other rules?" Cass finally spoke up from his seat, having been quietly observing the conversation. "Regarding Ellie's involvement in the case."

Sam took a deep breath before twisting his back to make eye contact with his daughter, "I guess there really are no more rules, but you need to promise that you're going to follow them."

"I know," she slumped in her seat under his strong gaze.

"I'm serious, Eleanor," his tone dropped so low his voice sounded like gravel, "Because I will leave and take you with me and let these two finish the case."

She looked up at him, biting her lip. She had learned over the last few years that when her father was serious about something, he would intermittently tighten his lips together as he spoke. She counted, and he had done it four times in the last sentence. Now was _not_ the time to mess around.

"Okay, Dad," she said quietly, the side of her mouth twitching up to a quick half smile.

"Good," Sam turned back to sit in his seat properly. His phone dinged and he frowned, sighing loudly.

"What is it?" Cass asked, leaning his head forward.

"Another girl has gone missing," Sam whispered, scrolling through the news report. "From the same school."

Ellie sighed and leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the car window, watching the fields as they drove by. She wanted so badly to help, but knew that asking any of the three men in the car to let her do anything extra would end very bad.

"I don't understand why they haven't found another body yet," Dean's voice brought Ellie out of her thoughts.

"It is weird," Cass nodded, "Werewolves usually don't keep their food for extended periods of time."

"Maybe the wolf is keeping them hostage for some reason," Ellie spoke up quietly.

Sam shook his head, "Werewolves aren't like that, they usually eat and move on."

"So we have ourselves an unusual werewolf then, huh?" Dean sighed. "We should call Garth."

"I can call him," Ellie piped up, wiggling her hips to grab her phone out of her pocket.

Sam turned and shook his head, "No, let's wait until we get a little more information."

"Dad," Ellie moaned, "If Uncle Garth hasn't eaten me yet, I don't think he's ever going to."

"If we end up needing him, you can be the one to call him, okay?" Sam shot her a quick smile. Ellie nodded and slowly put her phone back into her pocket.

When they arrived at the motel, Ellie waited excitedly as Sam took a little too long to open her door. It reminded him of when she was little and he would take her to the store, and she would always try and jump out of the vehicle as soon as it stopped. As soon as he pulled the door handle, Ellie shoved the door and scooted out. Sam reached out and grabbed her upper arm, his eyes shooting down to meet hers.

"Wait for me."

"Dad, I'm just going with Uncle Dean and Uncle Cass to get the keys," she groaned, trying to wiggle out of his grasp.

"Nope," he lowered his hand down to her wrist, pulling her towards the back of the impala. "You can help me get the bags."

"You're being crazy," she finally jerked her arm out of his hand, leaning against the back wheel well of the car. "Nothing's going to happen to me in a motel parking lot."

"Are you wearing your necklace?" Sam's brow furrowed as he looked at her neck, realizing he didn't see her metal chain on the outside of her sweatshirt.

Ellie rolled her eyes, reaching into her shirt and pulling the amulet out, making a show of it to him. "I always have it on, Dad. I'm not dumb."

"I know that," Sam mumbled, pulling the last of the duffels out of the trunk and setting them on the ground next to the car as Dean walked up.

"Squirt's gonna have to take the couch, they only have one room," he held out a key card. Ellie tried to reach out and take it, only to have him jerk his hand back and glare at her. "Really, you think you get one?"

She tilted her head with an incredulous look before reaching down and slinging her bag over her shoulder. Dean followed suit and soon all four of them were heading into their new home for the next few days.

"Cozy," Ellie murmured, looking around the small suite. There was a small kitchenette, and two queen beds with a small television and a couch. She walked over to the sofa and dropped her bag on it, clapping her hands and turning around. "So what do we do first?"

"_We_," Dean gestured between himself and Ellie, "Don't do anything. Your dad and I go talk to the victims' families."

"Well isn't there anything I can do?" she held her hands out as her uncle carried his garment bag towards the bathroom. He stopped directly in front of her, resting a hand on her head with a smile.

"You can order lunch."

Ellie glared at Dean as he laughed, walking past her to get changed into his FBI get up. She looked to Sam, who shrugged and nodded.

"You're gonna stay here with Cass," he gestured to where the angel was sitting on one of the beds, flipping through the channels on the television.

"Fine," Ellie shrugged, plopping onto the couch and kicking her feet up on the table in front of her.

Sam narrowed his eyes at her, concerned with how easily he won that argument. He knew that she must be up to something, so he walked over to Cass and gently slapped his back. The angel looked up to him, his eyebrows scrunching as Sam gestured with his head to the door of the motel room. It took him a moment, but he finally got up and followed the hunter outside.

"Listen," Sam said quietly, looking through the window to make sure Ellie wasn't listening to their conversation, "You need to really keep an eye on her."

"I'm aware, Sam," Cass sighed.

"No, she's up to something," Sam tightened his jaw, "Just don't let her convince you to do anything."

Cass nodded in understanding. "I know."

"Cass, you know how you are with her," Sam mumbled, trying not to hurt his friend's feelings. "She does the puppy dog eyes and then suddenly you two come home with a drum set."

"That was one time," Cass looked down at his feet, clearing his throat, "Fine. I understand. I'll avoid eye contact with her."

Sam closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before holding his hand out for Cass to reenter the motel room. As they walked in, Dean was coming out of the bathroom in his suit.

"Get dressed, Sammy," Dean spoke as he leaned over and knocked Ellie's feet off the table.

"Hey," she yelled.

"Your shoes are dirty," Dean mumbled. "Seriously though, you and Cass need to figure out lunch by the time we get back."

"Whatever," she whispered.

"What was that?"

"I said I love you Uncle Dean," she smiled sweetly up at him, batting her eyelashes.

"That's what I thought."

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the kind reviews! I'm enjoying writing sassy!Ellie a little too much I think. Gotta love those hormones. I appreciate each and every one of you for following this story! : ) **


	4. Chapter 4

"Please?"

"No, Ellie."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with an ice cream sundae on top?" Ellie and Cass shared their love of ice cream, which was rooted from the first week that she met the angel. She was begging him to let her make some phone calls to the police station, but Cass knew that they would be able to tell that her voice was not an agent, but that of a child's.

"The physical appearance of the please makes no difference."

"Was that a reference to that kid's movie?" she snorted as she laid on one of the motel beds, her head hanging off the edge as she looked around the room.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cass shuffled in his seat, looking up at the ceiling.

Ellie slowly sat up, narrowing her eyes at him with a mischievous smile. "What would you say if I said 'it's so fluffy'?"

Cass opened his mouth to speak, then clamped it shut as his chest heaved with a deep breath. Ellie swung her legs off of the bed, giggling. She could see that not finishing the quote was killing him inside, and she just kept staring at him.

"You know you want to say it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cass repeated, this time with a slight squeak to his voice.

"Uncle Cass," Ellie chuckled, "It's okay if you like the movie. Uncle Dean isn't here to judge you."

The angel took a deep breath before he dropped his head and whispered something so quietly that Ellie couldn't understand him.

"What was that?"

"It's so fluffy I'm gonna die," he mumbled, trying to stop the smile that was creeping up his face. Ellie choked on her laugh, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth. Cass snapped his eyes up to glare at her, his mouth tightened.

"You're adorable," Ellie snorted, shaking her head.

"You're the one who made me watch that movie in the first place," he mumbled.

"Yeah, when I was like seven."

"That wasn't that long ago," Cass shrugged, straightening in his chair and looking around the room.

"It was five years ago, Uncle Cass," she chuckled, holding up her hand to demonstrate all five fingers. "That's a long time."

Cass slowly allowed his eyes to travel back to her face, his eyes narrowed in her direction. "To me, anything less than a millennia is not that long ago."

Ellie rolled her eyes, getting up to grab her dad's laptop.

"Weird angel timeline."

Sam and Dean left the last house, both sighing as they climbed into the impala. They had spoken to each of the victims' families, and other than attending the same school they had no connection to each other. The girls were not even of the same economic or social status.

"How is this guy picking his victims?" Sam groaned as they drove towards the motel.

"They've all disappeared from random locations in town, so it must be random."

"Nothing is ever random," Sam muttered, pulling out his cell phone and opening his contacts.

"She's fine, Sam," Dean had glanced over and saw his brother's finger poised over Ellie's contact information. "She's with Cass."

"I haven't talked to her since we left," Sam fidgeted in his seat. Dean chuckled softly, shaking his head. "What?"

"It's been less than three hours, dude."

"So?" Sam whispered. He knew that he was being overprotective, he just couldn't help it. Most of the time when he went off on hunts, either Dean or Cass or sometimes Jody would stay home with Ellie, and he would text them almost hourly to check in. This was the longest he had gone without communicating with Ellie in a long time, and he didn't like that they were technically on a hunt.

"Sammy," Dean's tone softened as he recognized his brother's internal struggle. "She's fine."

Sam inhaled deeply, pursing his lips as he turned and looked out the window. He was grateful that they had chosen a motel that was within a close distance of the school and the families' residences, so they would be back in less than fifteen minutes. He could handle fifteen minutes.

When they arrived back to the motel, Cass and Ellie were on Sam's laptop trying to find a connection between the victims. Ellie had pulled up every social media site she knew, trying to determine if the girls knew each other better than their parents thought.

"Find anything?" Sam walked up to the table and crossed his arms, smiling down at them.

"Not yet," Ellie mumbled, resting her head in her hands as her eyes continuing skimming the screen.

Dean looked around the motel room, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "You didn't get food?"

"Not yet," Cass repeated Ellie's words, looking up at the hunter.

"Damn it," Dean moaned, throwing his head back in exasperation. "I'm starving."

"Dad can go get food," Ellie muttered, her hand clicking away as she continued her stalking.

Sam tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, looking down at her. Ellie kept her head still but darted her eyes over to his face, a fake smile popping up on her face. Sam rolled his eyes and turned to look at Dean.

"What do you want?"

"Tacos," Ellie's head jerked up. Dean stuck his lips out in a pout as he thought, then nodded.

"Tacos sound good."

"Alright," Sam threw a quick glance back to Ellie, pointing his finger at her. "Behave."

"Don't I always?" she smiled and batted her eyelashes briefly before turning back to the computer.

After Sam left, the roar of the impala sounding through the thin motel walls, Ellie sighed loudly and stood up, closing the laptop.

"I'm going to go take a shower."

Dean mumbled an affirmative reply from where he was relaxing on his stomach on the bed, his face smashed into a pillow. Cass sat on a wooden chair, scrolling through cat videos on his phone.

About fifteen minutes later, Cass began thinking about how long Ellie had been in the shower. She usually took incredibly fast showers, and she had been in there for a long time. He slowly stood and walked over before knocking on the door.

"Ellie? Are you alright?"

He didn't hear a reply, but he could identify the sound of the water running. He knocked again, this time a little harder. He expected Dean to wake up, but wasn't surprised that he didn't given the hunter's ability to remain asleep through a lot of noise.

"Ellie?"

When she didn't respond again, Cass began to worry a little bit. It wasn't until he looked towards the couch that he lifted his fist and pounded on the door, yelling her name. Ellie's bag was laying open on the couch, and he could see her towel and toiletries bag resting right inside. Dean finally startled awake, jumping off the bed in a fighting stance. He looked over to Cass and gave him a confused look.

"What's going on?"

"I'm coming in," Cass bellowed before holding his hand up and using his mojo to unlock the door, the wood swinging open with a loud bang. He stormed in, his eyes cast downward just in case Ellie wasn't decent, although based on the evidence he knew what had happened. When he looked up and saw the shower running slowly with the curtain pulled back, the angel's breath caught in his throat. He slowly turned and wanted to vomit the moment he saw the open window. Dean came barreling in immediately after, moaning when he saw what Cass was looking at.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me."

Ellie walked quickly towards the bus stop at the gas'n'sip next to the motel, continually looking back to make sure she wasn't being followed. She knew that she could help solve this case, if her father would just let her try. She reached back and patted the silver knife docked in her back pants pocket. Her plan was to go to the school and pretend to be a new kid, to try and talk to some of the girls and figure out the connection between the victims.

Just as she stepped forward to board the bus, a strong hand grabbed the back of her hoodie and yanked her away from the bus and towards the parking lot. She tried to whip around to fight, but her assailant was strong and was almost holding her completely in the air, making her legs flail around. Just as she opened her mouth to scream, her eyes shifted right and her stomach dropped when she saw a familiar plaid sleeve. She stopped fighting and slowly turned her head back, whimpering when she saw the hardened face of her uncle staring off in the distance as he dragged her across the parking lot back to the motel.

Dean all but threw Ellie into the small alley behind the motel, looking around to make sure no one was alarmed by the way he had grabbed her at the bus stop. Luckily the bus driver had seemed uninterested, his nose in a tabloid reading about Jennifer Aniston's latest hairdo, and there weren't any customers at the small gas station.

He closed his eyes, running his hands through his hair as Ellie fell against the brick wall, her chest heaving from trying to get away from him. For a brief moment, the look in her eyes made it seem like she might make a run for it, but as soon as she looked up in her uncle's face, she knew better. Dean took a few slow breathes, trying to calm himself down before having this conversation.

"I—"

Dean held up a single finger to interrupt, his eyes squeezing shut. Ellie closed her mouth abruptly and let out a shaky breath, looking down at her fingers. Dean took another few minutes to breathe as deeply as he could, looking the opposite direction of where Ellie stood against the wall, then slowly turned and stared at her.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Ellie shrugged, biting her lip as she began picking at her nails. While she had known that she would get caught eventually, she had hoped that she wouldn't actually be physically caught until she had found some sort of information that would've made her uncles and father forget the fact that she ran off.

"Look at me," Dean growled. Ellie continued playing with her fingers until he reached out and swatted her hands roughly. "I said look at me."

She drew a shaky breath before slowly lifting her head and making eye contact with her uncle. She continued biting her lips, and Dean sighed as he looked down at her. He was instantly brought back to the first time Sam had run off, and Dean had luckily found him before their dad realized he was missing. They had stood in this exact same position, Sam looking up at his brother with worried eyes. Dean watched as Ellie tried to keep a brave face, her jaw tightened, but he knew better.

"What were you thinking?" Dean's tone softened slightly, still with a stern edge to it.

"I just wanted to help, but you guys won't let me," she whispered, her bottom lip quivering as she stared at Dean. "I know I can help."

"You can't help if you're dead," His words came out a little harsher than he meant them to, but judging by the shock in Ellie's eyes, they had the desired effect. "I know you think you're such a tough guy, but you barely weigh ninety pounds soaking wet."

"I can still fight," she sniffed, her eyes turned down as she tried her hardest not to sound whiny.

"I was able to drag you all the way over here," Dean held his hands out, his eyebrows raised, "And a werewolf is going to be even stronger than me, El."

Ellie's shoulders dropped and her eyes darted all over the alley as she thought over his words. Dean watched as the gravity of the situation set in, her eyes beginning to well with tears.

"Are you gonna tell Dad?"

Her voice was so quiet and weak that for a moment Dean felt like she had reverted back to her six year old self. When she finally lifted her head and made eye contact with him, he sighed loudly. While she could have easily batted her eyelashes and tried to pull her signature look, he knew that this wasn't what she was doing. She was legitimately worried, and was asking him what he was planning to do.

"No," he reached forward and pulled her into his chest, wrapping one hand behind her head and the other around her waist. While he had been angry that she ran off, he was also terrified that something was going to happen to her. He needed to know that she was okay, and feeling her heartbeat heavy against his chest did just that. "Don't ever do that again."

After a brief moment, Dean jerked his head back when he heard the familiar roar of the impala's engine as Sam pulled into the parking lot. He looked down at Ellie who had a worried look on her face and shot her a quick smile.

"We'll have to wait here until he gets into the room," Dean muttered, watching as Sam got out of the car.

"But Uncle Cass is going to tell him what happened," Ellie whimpered, biting her lips and wringing her hands.

"It'll be fine," Dean reached back and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her to walk in front of him. "Don't worry about it."

The two of them jogged towards the room, waiting right outside the door once Sam entered. Dean peeked through the blinds before he quickly swung the door open, interrupting the conversation.

"Sam, I have to tell you—" Cass was standing in the middle of the room, his face in a deep frown as he spoke. Just as he was about to finish his sentence, he made eye contact with Dean as the hunter entered the room. Cass's eyes bulged as he realized Ellie was with him, and his mouth opened and closed a few times.

Sam raised an eyebrow in confusion, turning around to look from Dean to Ellie and then back to Cass. "You okay? What did you have to tell me?"

Cass continued to stare at Dean, who quickly shook his head and gave the angel a specific look. Cass knew this look from over the years, it meant that they would discuss whatever event had transpired at a later time.

"I just wanted to tell you," Cass paused, looking back to Sam with his lips pulled inward, "That I hope you got hot sauce."

**A/N: Thank you all again for the kind reviews! I hope y'all find this chapter to your liking. : ) **


	5. Chapter 5

After Ellie's attempt at running off, Dean was keeping an extra close eye on her. It was hard to think of a good enough reason to tell Sam for why he wanted to stay back at the motel instead of going to look at the first victim's body with him, but he eventually just said he thought Cass should go with him instead so he could use his angel mojo on the body to possibly find some answers.

Once Sam and Cass left, Dean turned to where Ellie was sitting on the couch, curled up with her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just looking at the victim's instagrams," she murmured, her brow furrowing in concentration. "I think I might have found something."

"Really?" Dean raised an eyebrow and walked over, plopping down next to her.

Ellie nodded, turning her phone slightly to show him. "This guy, he's commented on all of the girls' photos. But I looked at his profile, and I don't think he's their age."

Dean took the phone from her, trying to click on the man's profile picture to make it bigger. Ellie rolled her eyes with a quiet chuckle before snatching her phone back, showing him how to look at the image larger. Dean narrowed his eyes at her and cleared his throat before squinting to try and make out the guy's face.

"It's a pretty blurry picture," he mumbled.

"Hold on grandpa, I'll try and enhance it," Ellie smirked, taking a screen shot of the picture and opening a photo editing app. Dean watched her with a curious look as she manipulated the image, bringing the man's face better into focus.

"Might be time for you to get some reading glasses," Ellie snorted, biting her lips to try and stop from laughing. Dean reached out and swatted the back of her head, making her giggle.

He took her phone and looked at the image, a scowl forming on his face. The man looked much older than thirteen, more around the realm of twenty five.

"This creep commented on all of the victims' pictures?" Dean raised an eyebrow as he watched Ellie stand up.

"Yup," she nodded, crossing her arms. "His name is Joey Amalfitano. He commented almost the same thing on each one."

"What was it?"

"You look so sweet."

Sam and Cass walked out of the county building with confused looks on their faces. The only body that had been found showed no signs of defensive marks anywhere. The coroner had noted what seemed like knife marks on the abdomen, which was also unusual for a werewolf kill.

"Why would a werewolf use a knife to cut out the heart?" Cass asked as they climbed into the impala.

"I don't know," Sam sighed, resting his hands on his legs. "The coroner said it looked like there were hesitation marks too."

"Are we sure this is a werewolf?" Cass said quietly, turning to look at the hunter.

Sam shrugged, then reached forward and started the engine. "I honestly don't know."

"Are we going back to the motel?"

"No, I want to stop by the school and see if we can talk to some friends of the victims. School is just getting out so now would be a good time to catch them." Sam tightened his jaw. "Will you text Dean and let him know?"

"Sure," Cass pulled out his phone, sending a message to Dean to inform them they wouldn't be back to the motel for a while.

**_Sounds good. Tell Sammy that Squirt is fine. _**

"Dean wants me to tell you that Ellie is fine," Cass mumbled, frowning when he realized his phone battery was about to die. He consistently forgot to charge it, even though Dean constantly reminded him.

Sam nodded, chuckling softly. His brother knew him so well, making sure he knew that Ellie was safe. He continued driving towards the school, thinking about what it would be like if Ellie wasn't homeschooled. He imagined her asking him to blare AC/DC or Metallica on the way to drop her off each morning, her head bobbing to the music. She would probably ask him not to park in front of the school, not wanting to be embarrassed by her father. Sam smiled as he daydreamed, almost missing a turn to get to the school.

"Uncle Dean, look at this," Ellie ran over to where he was laying on his bed, with his laptop on his legs, further looking into this creepy Joey guy. While he knew that someone should follow the lead and go talk to the guy, he was waiting for Sam and Cass to return to talk to them about it. He sat up slowly, setting his computer onto the mattress and taking the phone from her hands.

"What am I looking at?"

"I went onto the school's website and started following all of the female students in the right age range on Instagram."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "You have an instagram?"

"Um," she whispered, biting her lip, "No?"

"You know that your dad doesn't want you on social media yet," he moaned, dropping his head into his hands.

"Whatever, you can yell at me for it later," she waved her hand, grabbing his and pointing to the picture she had pulled up. "This is a girl named Bailey Quinn."

"Okay, and?" Dean sighed.

Ellie groaned, jabbing her finger against the bottom of the screen. "Look at the comment under her picture."

Dean sucked in a sharp breath, his jaw tightening in anger as he read the words posted by one Joey Amalfitano.

"It's him," Ellie said as Dean jumped off of the bed, pulling his own phone out of his pocket. "She's his next victim."

Dean cursed as his call to Cass went straight to voicemail. He had been reminding the angel all day to plug his phone in, but apparently he hadn't listened. Dean pulled the phone away from his ear, dialing his brother's number. It rang four times before going to his voicemail, and Dean left a quick message to call him back ASAP before shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"They're not answering?" Ellie crossed her arms and watched as her uncle began to pace back and forth in the room.

"No," he muttered, his eyes cast towards the ground.

"Well we have to go find this girl," Ellie's voice bordered on desperation as she held her phone out, the young girl's smiling photo still on the screen.

"Ellie—"

"Uncle Dean, he's going to grab her," she raised her voice, walking in front of him to stop his pacing. "We can't just sit here."

Dean took a few deep breathes, staring down into those deep hazel eyes. Ellie stared up at him, her breathing as even as she could manage given the situation. Her brows were scrunched together in determination as she sighed loudly.

"We can just go stakeout her house," she reached out and placed her hands on either of her uncle's shoulders. "I'll stay in the car."

Dean tightened his jaw, then poked a finger in her face with a stern look. "If you leave the car, so help me you will be grounded from hunting for the next two years."

Ellie just nodded, then dropped her shoulders. "Wait, Dad has the impala."

"Don't worry about it," Dean mumbled, throwing her jacket to her. "You have your necklace on?"

"Yeah, but we're not hunting a demon."

"First rule of hunting," Dean turned around at the door and looked down at her. "Never assume that you know what you're getting into. Now let's go, we gotta find a ride."

"Are you gonna steal a car?" Her eyebrows raised. She had known about her relatives' slightly sketchy doings as hunters, but had never seen them in action.

They walked outside, and Dean gestured with his head towards the gas'n'sip. They jogged towards an old Ford parked out back, Dean looking around to make sure no one was watching them. He reached into his jacket and carefully pulled the lockout tool and rested it against the window.

"Keep watch," he muttered as he began to wiggle the metal, smiling when he felt the familiar click of the latch unlocking. He swung the door open and jutted his head forward for Ellie to get into the passenger seat.

As they sped off, Dean threw his phone onto Ellie's lap. "Do you know how to pull up the police database?"

"I mean I've seen Dad do it a couple times," she looked down at the device. "Do you want me to find the girl's address?"

"No, I figured we'd just drive around the entire city of Wichita," Dean sighed when Ellie's head shot look at him, her brow furrowed. He knew he was taking out his frustration on her, but he couldn't help it. "Yes, find her address."

Ellie slowly turned her head back to his phone, her fingers tapping at a rapid pace as she searched through the database for the location.

Sam and Cass drove up to the motel, both with frustrated looks on their faces. Ellie had been accurate, and none of the kids at the school wanted to talk to the FBI. Sam had even tried using his dad voice on a couple of boys, but all they did was laugh at him and walk away.

"That was a bust," Sam mumbled as they walked up to the door.

"I agree," Cass replied, wanting to mention the fact that Ellie had been right but knowing it would probably only upset his friend.

As they opened the door, Sam's face deepened into a frown. Dean and Ellie were nowhere to be found, and their coats were both gone. He ran to the bathroom, taking a quick peek before he turned back to Cass with a worried expression on his face.

"Where the hell did they go?"

Cass reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out his phone, groaning when he realized it was dead. Sam watched and grabbed his own cell phone from his jeans pocket, his stomach dropping when he realized he had three missed calls and a voicemail from his brother. He smashed his finger onto the screen, holding it up on speaker so they could listen to the message.

_Sam, call me back. We figured out who's taking the girls and we know his next victim. _

The hunter threw his phone across the room suddenly, startling Cass. The screen cracked as it smashed against the wall, falling onto the couch.

"I cannot believe he took her with him," Sam growled as he ran his hands through his hair, pacing.

"I'm sure he had no choice," Cass spoke quietly, recognizing the high level of anger that Sam was representing.

Sam then rushed over and grabbed his phone, opening the 'locate my friends' application. He clicked on Ellie's name, only to have it tell him she couldn't be located.

"What the hell," he moaned, trying again and again to push her contact. "She turned the GPS off of her phone."

"It was probably from earlier when she—" Cass slammed his mouth shut when Sam's head whipped around.

"When she what?"

"Nothing," Cass spoke quickly, shrugging his shoulders dramatically. "I don't know what I was talking about."

Sam slowly walked towards the angel, his fists clenching. "Cass, what the hell happened?"

"Dean made me promise not to tell you," Cass tried not to let his voice sound like a whimper, but he didn't want to have to choose between the brothers.

"Castiel, you'd better tell me what the hell happened with my daughter or I swear—"

"She ran off this morning," Cass spoke loudly, his eyes closing. When he opened them again, Sam's face had fallen from frustrated to full on pissed off. "She jumped out of the bathroom window when you were getting lunch. Dean found her and brought her back so you wouldn't know what happened."

Sam drew several deep breaths, his jaw tightening with each one. He stared down at the angel, his eyes narrowed. Just when it seemed like he would burst, he slowly pulled his phone up and found Dean's name, identifying his location.

"I know where Dean is," Sam whispered, exhaled slowly before he stalked to the door, Cass hot on his heels.

Dean pulled up to the house, parking the car on the street so they would have a good view. Ellie kept leaning up in the seat to try and get a better view, but Dean continually pushed her shoulders down.

"When you're on a stakeout, nonchalance is key."

Ellie huffed and leaned back in her seat, pulling out her phone. She was scrolling through instagram, and Dean peeked at her screen before snatching it out of her hand.

"Hey!"

"Who the hell is Garrett?" he growled, scrolling down the boy's profile that she was on.

Ellie blushed, then grabbed her phone back and shoved it into her jacket pocket. "He's just a boy."

Dean's jaw dropped when she got all flustered, his face contorting into a mixture of disgusted and mortified.

"What…how…how long have you had an instagram account?" he asked.

"A few months," she mumbled, turning and looking out the window.

Dean let his head drop back onto the headrest, his eyes closing. As if they didn't have enough to worry about, with the werewolf abducting teenage girls, now Dean had to think of a way to tell his brother that Ellie had been on social media secretly for the last two months.

"You are not supposed to be on social media," he remained in the same position, shaking his head. "There's all sorts of—"

"Killer werewolves?" she smirked. "You guys don't let me go anywhere to meet friends, I had to do something."

"Hey, you hang out with people."

Ellie tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "Everyone you guys let me hang out with is at least ten years older than me."

"That's—" he began to tell her it wasn't true, but he paused and thought about it, realizing she was right. "Still. No more messaging boys."

"I wasn't messaging him," she muttered, a small smile creeping up her lips. "He liked one of my photos."

Dean's head snapped over to her, his eyes bugging out of his head and his mouth dropped open. "What?"

"Stop, it's not a big deal," she moaned, rolling her eyes.

"What kind of pictures have you been posting?"

"Nothing, Uncle Dean."

"Ellie—"

"Stop," she whined, pulling her knees up under her and leaning her head on the back of the seat.

"Fine," Dean shrugged, pulling out his own cell phone. "I'll just make my own instagram and see for myself."

"You can barely use a radio that was made after 1980, I think my instagram pictures are safe."

**A/N: THANK you to everyone who keeps reviewing, it's making my wee little heart soar! : ) **


	6. Chapter 6

"Uncle Dean," Ellie whispered, nudging his shoulder and pointing across the street. Dean's gaze slowly moved over, as to not attract any attention. He saw a man wearing a green hoodie and jeans walking up the back path to the house, his head turning constantly as he looked around.

Dean reached into the glove compartment, grabbing his gun loaded with silver bullets. He pulled back the slide, making sure there was a bullet lodged in the chamber.

"Stay here," Dean turned and glared at her.

"But I can help," Ellie moved to grab the door handle. Knowing what was going to happen, Dean reached into his back pocket and grabbed Ellie's arms, clicking a zip tie onto her wrists before looping another zip tie around the steering wheel and attaching it to the one on her arms. Her jaw dropped as she stared at him, her eyes wide.

"You really think I'm going to trust you?" he scoffed as he slid out of the seat.

"Zip ties? Really?" she asked incredulously.

Dean bent over to lean his head into the open window, shooting her a quick smile. "You've been able to pick your way out of handcuffs since you were nine. I'm not stupid."

"Uncle Dean," she hissed, trying to pull back on her arms as he walked towards the house, tucking his gun into the waistband of his pants.

Dean jogged up the front steps before pounding his fist on the door, trying to peek in the small window at the top. He continued knocking until the door finally swung open to reveal a young girl with a confused look on her face.

"Can I help you?"

"Bailey?" Dean asked, his head tilting as he looked behind her into the house.

"Yeah," she scrunched her face, taking a small step back.

"I'm Agent Nichols, FBI," he pulled his badge out quickly, stepping over the threshold. "Is anyone else home?"

"No, my parents are both still at work," she watched as Dean pulled out his gun, looking down the narrow hallway. "What is going on?"

"I need you to stay behind me," he looked straight into her eyes, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "There's a man trying to kidnap you."

The girl quickly turned and closed the door, twisting the lock on the knob before turning and opening her mouth to scream. He barely heard the noise leave her throat before something hit him over the head from behind, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Sam and Cass drove like mad towards Dean's phone's location, the hunter in the driver's seat with his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. Cass had Sam's phone open, and was guiding him on when to turn. According to the app, it was going to be about fifteen minutes until they arrived to wherever Dean and Ellie were.

"What's the plan when we get there?" Cass asked quietly, his eyes randomly darting over to look at Sam.

"You find Dean, kill the werewolf, I get Ellie and get the hell out of there." Cass knew that there was no negotiating this plan, so he simply nodded.

"Are you—"

"I'm done talking," Sam wiggled his fists on the wheel, sniffing loudly.

"Okay," Cass mumbled, looking down and realizing they had missed a turn. He decided to not inform his friend and instead let the navigation system reroute.

Dean woke up, his head throbbing. He realized he was tied to a kitchen chair with electrical wire, and started whipping his head around looking for an escape.

"Ah, you're awake."

Dean turned towards the sound, frowning when he saw the same man from the photo Ellie had shown him leaning against the kitchen counter. The girl, Bailey, was tied up in another chair directly across from him with a gag in her mouth and tears streaming down her face. Dean glared at the man, watching as he walked closer to the young girl and grabbed a piece of her hair, twirling it in his fingers.

"Get away from her," he hissed.

Joey turned back, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think you're in a position to be making demands, bucko."

Dean struggled against the wires digging into his wrists, trying to find even a little bit of give. The damn guy must have twisted them around his arms multiple times, because Dean wasn't able to wiggle at all.

"I'm a little confused, though," Joey turned and pointed the knife that Dean only just now realized was in his hand towards the hunter. "You're a hunter, I presume?"

Dean just tightened his jaw, not willing to give anymore information to this creep. He watched as Joey walked close to his legs, bending over at the waist and making a sarcastic frown as he tilted his head.

"I thought hunters don't have kids."

Dean's heart stopped. For a good two seconds, he was positive that no air entered his lungs, and no blood circulated in his entire body. His feet instantly became cold, his fingers tingling from a lack of blood flow. He wanted to close his eyes, to pretend that this wasn't happening; he had gotten fairly good at shutting things out over the years. If he would've done this, however, if he had slammed his eyes shut and dropped his head, he wouldn't have seen what happened next.

Joey looked to a spot behind Dean, winking. The hunter twisted his head, trying to see who was out of his gaze. When he saw movement, and recognized the red hoodie that was moving towards him, his almost threw up.

Ellie was being dragged by her hair into the kitchen, one of her eyes starting to swell shut. She had a small amount of blood dripping out of her mouth near a split in her lip, and there were tears welled in her eyes.

"You forgot one very important aspect of my kind," Joey stood up and threw his arms to the side, grinning. "We travel in packs. So when my buddy here saw you leave your girl here outside in the car, well…we wanted her to come join in on the fun."

Dean tried to get a grip on his emotions as he looked over to where the other werewolf had his arm wrapped around Ellie's chest, leaning down and smelling her hair.

"Get away from her," he growled, trying again to get out of his bindings.

"I was going to ask why on earth you brought her with you, but I really don't care," Joey chuckled, crossing his arms. "Did you know that virgin hearts taste the best?"

Dean couldn't look away from Ellie's eyes, seeing the fear residing there. She kept trying to push the werewolf's arms off of her but he would just grab her wrists and pull her closer to him every time.

"It's gonna be okay," Dean whispered, allowing a single tear to fall from his eyes. The truth was, he didn't know if it was going to be alright. He had gotten her into this mess, and now he had no method of escape.

Ellie nodded, biting her bottom lip. She turned and looked at Joey, her face hardening. "Why did you use a knife?"

"What?" Joey whipped his head around, confused as to why his next meal was trying to talk to him about his previous victims.

"Werewolves have enough strength to rip someone's heart out with their bare hands," Ellie continued, shrugging. "You used a blade."

Joey held up a finger, then took a steadying breath with his eyes closed. "That wasn't me. I would never…one of my newest recruits couldn't do the deed. He insisted on using a _knife_ to retrieve the heart. Then the big baby couldn't even do it, kept messing up the cuts."

"What a bad werewolf," Dean spoke up, trying to bring Joey's attention from Ellie. It worked, and the werewolf slowly walked towards the hunter.

"That dumbass is the reason the authorities found the body," Joey growled, "I told him to drop her somewhere that no one would ever look. He put her in a goddamn dumpster."

"Sounds like a real problem with the management," Dean continued, taking a quick glance towards Ellie and seeing her mouth moving as she seemed to silently talk.

Joey sucked in a sharp breath, then straightened his back and shook his head as he walked over to Bailey, who was still gagged. "We're done discussing this. I need to eat."

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, revealing the bloodshot amber irises as he transformed, and his fingernails grew to their full sharp length. Dean again struggled against the wires, trying to move the chair even the slightest. Just as Joey leaned down in front of Bailey, his hand poised directly in front of her sternum, Dean heard a loud squelching noise. He whipped his head back to look at Ellie, who had her hands on her head and her eyes closed tightly. The werewolf who had previously had his arms wrapped around her had his mouth dropped open and was making a quiet choking noise.

Joey spun around and began stalking towards the commotion, only to be shot by two silver bullets from the gun Cass was brandishing. Dean watched as the werewolf fell to the ground, blood pouring from the two bullet holes in his chest. He turned and looked at Cass, then back to the werewolf by Ellie.

Just before the body fell in front of her, Ellie finally opened her eyes. As the werewolf's head slipped out of view onto the floor, she made eye contact with her savior.

"Dad," she cried, jumping over the dead body in front of her and into his arms.

Sam dropped the silver knife he had used to kill the werewolf, his arms wrapping as tightly around Ellie as possible. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her face smashing into his neck as she began to cry. He rubbed her back, then grabbed both sides of her face and pulled her head back to look at her.

"Are you okay?" he sniffed as a few tears left his eyes. He gingerly ran his thumb over her swollen eye, hissing when she winced.

"I'm okay," she whimpered, reaching up to wipe the line of blood that was falling from the cut on her lip. "I'm okay."

Cass had just finished untying Dean, and they released Bailey together. Sam shot Dean a quick look, letting Ellie back to the floor and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"We'll be in the car."

Dean nodded once, avoiding eye contact with his brother. He knew that what he had done would not be resolved anytime soon. He turned back to Cass, motioning to the two dead bodies as he walked over to Bailey to try and give her an explanation.

Sam sat in the front seat of the impala, continually glancing in the rear view mirror at Ellie. She was leaned against the driver's side window, her hoodie pulled up around her neck as best she could.

"I'm okay, Dad," she mumbled, catching him staring at her once again.

"I know," he ran a hand down his face. "No, you know what? You're not okay."

Ellie jumped as his voice raised, her face turning into a frown. "What?"

He turned in his seat, giving her a stern look. "You almost got killed today."

"But I didn't."

"That doesn't…" he trailed off, trying to take a couple deep breaths before continuing. "You won't be hunting again for a long time."

"Dad," Ellie shouted, sitting up abruptly. "That's not—"

"I don't care," he stared at her, his jaw clenching. "I'm done."

"This wasn't my fault, Dad," Ellie leaned forward as Sam turned back to face the front of the car. "I waited in the car like Uncle Dean said. I listened. That stupid wolf came and took me and…"

Sam turned his head just the slightest amount, his eyes looking down at the seat next to him. Ellie bit her lip, sniffing again before slowly leaning back to the backseat.

"It wasn't my fault," she whispered again, pulling her hood over her hair and leaning against the window as tears began to silently fall down her cheeks. Sam took one last glance into the mirror, sighing when he saw her crying. He closed his eyes and turned to look out his own window, shaking his head at the whole situation.


	7. Chapter 7

After a while, Dean and Cass came out just as they heard the sirens from down the street. Cass had erased Bailey's memory of the incident and put her to sleep, and they had called 911 for her before hurrying away. Cass slid into the backseat and Dean climbed into the driver's seat, both looking between a silent Sam and Ellie before Dean started the engine and pulled away. They got back to the motel and Dean was about to put the car into park when Sam clapped his hand onto his brother's wrist.

"You and Cass go get some food or something," he muttered. "Ellie and I need to talk."

Dean took a deep breath and looked in the rearview mirror, seeing Ellie's saddened look. He sighed, knowing that this was not a conversation he needed to intervene in.

"Okay," he nodded, then looked back at Cass and gestured with his head for the angel to get in the front seat. Sam got out of his seat, then walked around the car and opened the door for Ellie to slowly slide out. He grabbed her upper arm, guiding her to the motel room. She didn't try to pull away at all, knowing that she was about to receive a serious tongue lashing.

When they walked into the motel room, Sam pointed to one of the beds. "Sit."

She obeyed almost immediately, hurrying over and plopping down on the mattress. She began playing with her fingers, and looking down at the ground. Sam grabbed one of the wooden chairs and placed it directly in front of her, sitting down and resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward.

"Look at me," he spoke quietly, but with a stern tone. Ellie bit her lip as she slowly looked up, making eye contact.

"Well go ahead," she whispered, shrugging and making Sam furrow his brow in confusion. "Yell at me. That's why you made Uncle Cass and Uncle Dean leave."

Sam sighed, then lifted up and pulled the chair even closer to the bed so his knees were almost touching Ellie's. She kept her eyes up, watching every movement he made. Sam slowly reached out, his hand moving to cup her cheek.

"This is not for me to yell at you, baby."

At her childhood nickname, Ellie drew a sharp intake of breath. Her shoulders visibly relaxed and she rested her face in his hand, her eyes closing as a tear managed to escape.

"I want you to talk about what happened," Sam whispered, his thumb reaching over to wipe the tear. "It was traumatic, and you need to talk about it or it's going to eat you up inside."

Ellie's bottom lip quivered despite her attempt at acting brave. She sniffed quickly, her breath catching in her throat. She tried to stop the sharp sob that left her body, but found it impossible. Sam watched as she came apart, her head dropping as she cried.

"I was so scared, Dad," she whimpered once she finally caught her breath. "I didn't know what to do."

"It's okay," Sam reached out and rubbed her knee, swallowing down his own sadness.

"He punched me so hard," she mumbled, her hand inadvertently coming up to her swollen eye. "I tried to fight back, I swear. I tried, Dad."

"I know you did," Sam whispered. "He was a werewolf, they're incredibly strong."

"And then when we were in the kitchen with Uncle Dean," she reached up and wiped her cheeks with her hoodie sleeve. "He wouldn't stop…touching me."

Sam felt his blood begin to boil. He knew that when they had arrived, the werewolf had his arm on Ellie's shoulder, but he had no idea what had happened before they got there.

"Where?" he growled.

Ellie shook her head quickly, "Nowhere bad. He just kept pulling me against him and like, smelling my hair."

Sam's jaw tightened at the thought of a grown man touching his daughter. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, his eyes closed.

"And then I was praying to Uncle Cass as quietly as I could," Ellie continued, a small smile on her face. "I'm pretty sure the wolf thought I was crazy and talking to myself."

Sam leaned forward and placed his hand back on her face. "That's how we knew to come in the back. Cass heard your prayer."

Ellie chuckled softly before standing up, wincing and throwing a hand to her rib cage. Sam jumped off of the chair, his face full of concern as he looked down at her.

"What's wrong?" he put his hands on her shoulders.

"He kicked me a couple times too," she carefully lifted her shirt, whining when she saw the large bruise forming on her right side. Sam gently touched her skin, making her flinch.

"Cass can heal you when he gets back," he muttered. "Why don't you just lay down for now?"

"I'm not tired," she said just before a giant yawn overcame her. Sam snorted, then turned her towards the beds.

"It's getting late, El. Get some rest."

"I'm fine," she slurred, taking a deep breath and trying to stop Sam from pushing her onto the bed. She finally succumbed, falling face first onto the mattress. Sam chuckled as he maneuvered her under the blankets, pulling off her boots and throwing them aside. She grabbed one of the pillows and stuffed her face into it, curling on her side. Sam smiled as he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on her head.

"Good night baby."

"Night Dad. Love you."

"Love you more," he poked her side.

"Love you most," she whispered before her eyes finally drifted closed. Sam smiled as he looked down at her. When she was asleep was when she reminded him of her younger self the most. Her mouth slightly parted, a small puddle of drool already forming with her long hair mussed all over her face.

When Dean and Cass came back, they knocked on the door to make sure they were allowed to be there now. Sam answered the door with a finger held to his lips, motioning with his head to where Ellie was asleep on one of the beds. Dean and Cass nodded, and quietly moved into the room.

"How is she?" Cass asked quietly as they all opened a case of beer. After the day they had had, alcohol was definitely warranted.

"She's as good as she can be," Sam took a swig of his beer, pointedly avoiding looking at his brother. "She's going to need you to heal her when she wakes up. She's got a nasty bruise on her side."

"Okay," Cass replied, nodding.

"Sammy—"

"Don't," Sam turned and jabbed a finger towards his brother. "Just…don't."

Dean sighed, nodding as he pursed his lips. "I just want to talk."

"You almost got my daughter killed, I have nothing to say to you."

Dean was slightly taken aback, but simply grunted and turned to walk to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

Cass waited until his friend was in the bathroom with the door closed before he turned to look at Sam, a begging look in his eyes.

"Sam."

"Don't defend him, Cass," Sam hissed.

"I just," the angel paused, trying to think of the appropriate way to phrase what he needed to say. "I think you should think about how Dean feels about this."

"I really don't care," Sam scoffed, sitting on the couch and taking a long drink of his beer as Cass walked to stand in front of him.

"Yes you do," Cass said quietly, crossing his arms. "Don't you think he feels awful, knowing that it was his fault?"

"He should feel awful," Sam growled.

Cass sighed, recognizing he was getting nowhere. "I just want to make you the two of you don't dwell on this for too long. Not only for your own benefits, but for Ellie's."

Dean got into the shower, the warm water feeling amazing on his aching muscles. Although he didn't get into a physical fight today, struggling against the wires had really strained his body. He tilted his head forward, allowing the water to pour down his face as he closed his eyes. Ever since earlier, all he could see when he shut his eyes was Ellie being dragged into that kitchen. He blindly punched forward, his knuckles connecting with the tile wall. He took a deep breath and leaned his head back, looking down and seeing that the water was now red with his blood from his fist. He moaned, pulling his hand under the stream of water and hissing when the liquid seeped into the fresh cuts.

He knew that his brother was never going to forgive him. He had almost gotten his niece killed. That other werewolf even touched Ellie in such a way that no strange man ever should. Sam was going to forever treat him differently, Dean was sure of it.

And he felt like he deserved it.

**A/N: I know that these last two chapters are a little short, sorry! Please continue leaving reviews so I know that everyone is still enjoying the story! : )**


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Dean and Cass were loading everyone's bags into the trunk as Sam and Ellie gave the motel room one last check to make sure they didn't forget anything. The night had been relatively uneventful, with Sam and Dean barely speaking a word to each other. Cass was caught up in the awkwardness, and kept excusing himself to get some fresh air to avoid the tension that was thick in the motel room.

When Sam walked towards the impala, Cass moved to open the front passenger door until Sam shouted.

"Hey, you don't get shot gun."

Dean's head popped out from the trunk, stealing a glance at his brother. He and Cass had both expected Sam to want to ride in the back with Ellie to avoid Dean.

"Oh, sorry," Cass mumbled, moving to the back door and opening it as Sam got into the front seat without looking at Dean.

The older Winchester closed the trunk and looked down, his eyes darting around. It was going to be about a three hour ride back to the bunker, and he was hoping it wasn't going to be a super quiet ride. He followed Ellie to the driver's side of the car, clearing his throat. She rested a hand on his arm, looking up at him with a small smile.

"Love ya," she whispered, giving his bicep a quick squeeze before she climbed into the backseat with Cass.

Dean was grateful that Cass had healed all of Ellie's wounds, so her face wasn't even scarred at all from the day before. The hunter didn't think he could handle it if every time he looked at her he was reminded of what he did. He took a deep breath and slid into his seat, hurriedly turning over the engine and pulling out of the parking lot.

After about an hour and a half of driving in almost complete silence, apart from Ellie intermittently leaning forward and asking them to change the music, the twelve year old had fallen asleep leaning on Cass's shoulder, apparently still exhausted although she slept all night.

Sam turned and watched Ellie's slow breathing and knew she was indeed asleep since her lips had parted. Ever since she was little, that was how Sam recognized if she was faking sleep or not. He switched the music off and turned to his brother, staring at him with a stern look. Dean felt his eyes on him, but kept his gaze on the road.

"Dean," Sam finally spoke, his voice so low Dean almost didn't hear it.

Dean allowed his eyes to drift over quickly to Sam's face, raising his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"I'm giving you a chance to talk," Sam took a deep breath, his lips pulled inside his teeth.

"Oh," Dean cleared his throat, adjusting his body in his seat. "Okay. I, um…listen. I shouldn't have taken her with me to the house. I was a dumbass. I almost got her ki—"

He stopped mid sentence as the words caught in his throat, and Dean licked his lips and sniffed to try and stop his emotions from coming to the surface.

"I am so sorry, man," Dean whispered, his teeth clenching together as tight as he could in between his words. "I'm just…I'm so sorry."

Sam kept watching his brother falling apart, and his demeanor finally softened slightly. Dean reached up and pinched his nose as a few tears slipped out there, dripping down the sides of his nostrils.

"I know you are," Sam muttered, reaching out and placing a hand on Dean's shoulder. Dean choked out a small sob, then tried to mask it with a cough and cleared his throat loudly.

"Are you two girls done with your chick flick moment?"

Sam's head whipped around to see Ellie smiling with her eyes closed as she rested on Cass's shoulder.

"You're awake?" he asked incredulously.

"I'm pretty good at faking, huh?" she slowly sat up and raised her eyebrows with a cocky smile.

"Brat," Sam snorted, shaking his head as he turned to sit facing forward.

"I'm hungry," she whined, leaning forward in her seat.

"We'll be home in like an hour," Sam waved a hand, pulling out his phone. "You can wait."

Ellie huffed and leaned closer to Dean's seat, reaching and poking the back of his head gently. "Uncle Dean. I'm hungry."

"Your dad said you can wait," Dean reached back and swatted her hand away from his hair.

She squinted her eyes before an idea popped into her head and she leaned as close to his ear as possible. "I know what I want. It's so delicious, and it has a crumbly crust, with berries in the middle and such a savory—"

"You don't need pie," Sam reached over and playfully shoved her head away from his brother. He looked at Dean, who was licking his lips and breathing heavily. "Oh come on, we are not stopping for pie."

"We don't have any at home," Dean whimpered, turning to throw his brother a quick pout.

Sam rolled his eyes before throwing his hands up in defeat. Dean took that as an affirmative and took the next exit, knowing that there was a restaurant with an excellent selection of pie only a few miles down the road.

"Where are we?" Ellie asked as they pulled into the parking lot.

"A restaurant," Cass replied, his head tilting as he looked at her. "Do you have a concussion from yesterday?"

Ellie sighed, closing her eyes. "I meant what city, Uncle Cass."

"Oh."

"We're in Beloit," Dean smiled, climbing out of the car with a big smile on his face. "Let's go, squirt."

When Dean turned around and pulled Ellie's door open, he frowned when she didn't immediately jump out of the car like normal. He bent over and looked at her with his head tilted and an eyebrow raised.

"Hello? Pie time."

Ellie bit her lip and looked at where her father and Cass were standing on the other side of the car waiting for them. She crooked a finger, silently asking Dean to lean his head into the backseat.

"What's the matter?" his frown deepened, looking her over to make sure they hadn't missed an injury.

"This is where Garrett lives," she hissed, her eyes bulging. Dean's mouth hiked up on one side in a confused face, his head shaking. Ellie moaned, tightening her lips. "The boy who's been liking my photos on Instagram?"

Dean immediately felt his face fall, his gaze staring off in the distance. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"So?"

"He could be here," she squeaked, looking down at her hands.

"Again, so?"

"What's the problem?" Sam called over the top of the car. Dean stood up and held up a finger, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Sam frowned and began walking around the car towards Ellie's open door.

"Listen, your dad is coming over here and you're going to explain to him why we can't stay here."

"What? No!" she crossed her arms, shaking her head furiously. "He's already upset about yesterday, I'm not adding to it."

"Then let's go inside."

"Uncle _Dean_," she whined as Sam came to her door, leaning his head next to Dean's.

"What's up?" he looked down at Ellie, a concerned look on his face.

Ellie stared at her uncle, biting the inside of her cheeks. Dean just raised his eyebrows and shrugged, holding a hand towards Sam.

"What's going on?" Sam repeated, his gaze switching back and forth between Dean and Ellie.

"Ellie has something to tell you," Dean smiled at his niece before walking away to join Cass on the other side of the car.

"El?" Sam rested his arm on the roof of the impala, looking down at her. "What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath, then blew it out her mouth with her cheeks puffed out. "You're going to be pissed."

"Hey, language," he frowned.

"Well you are," she mumbled, continuing to bit her lips. "I…I don't want to eat in this city."

"What? Why not?" Sam's face switched back to extremely confused as he turned his head and looked around the area. It was just a nice little town, nothing too big.

"Because," she paused, groaning as she took another deep breath. "I kind of have an Instagram."

Sam tilted his head, his face scrunched up even more than Ellie thought possible. "Okay, I'm not happy about that, but how does that relate to eating in this city?"

"Just 'cause."

Sam narrowed his eyes down at her now, realizing that there was obviously something she wasn't telling him.

"Ellie."

"I don't want to tell you."

"Eleanor."

"There's a boy, okay," she shouted, burying her face in her hands.

Sam's breath caught in his throat and his jaw dropped, his eyes bulging out of his head. He slowly stood up, his eyes making their way over to look at Dean and Cass. Dean shot him an apologetic smile, shrugging his shoulders. Sam closed his eyes and tried to calm his face before leaning back down to continue the conversation.

"There's a…a boy?"

"Yes, and he lives here. I don't want him to see me, especially like this," Ellie muttered, pulling at her baggy Led Zeppelin t shirt that Dean had given her.

"Okay, first off," Sam took a deep breath, "You look pretty all the time."

"You're my dad, you have to say that."

"Hush," he held up a finger to silence her.

"It's true," she whispered, crossing her arms and sinking lower into the seat.

"Secondly, if there is a…a boy," he paused, shaking his head as he tried to get past saying those words, "If he doesn't like you how you are on a normal day, then he's no good."

Ellie groaned, turning to look up at him. "I look like a hobo."

"Ellie," Sam reached out and rested a hand on her head. "You are beautiful. And I am _not_ just saying that because I'm your dad."

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"And lastly, the odds of this specific boy being in that restaurant at the same time we are? Come on."

Ellie looked at him again, a small smile on her face. She finally sighed dramatically before throwing her legs out of the car and sliding out. She turned and looked at Dean over the car, who was holding his hands in fists up by his head with a hopeful look on his face.

"Let's go get pie."

As they walked into the restaurant, Ellie's gaze kept searching the tables and booths. Dean leaned over and nudged her shoulder.

"Is he here?"

"I don't think so," Ellie sighed in relief, following her father as he guided them to a booth near the back wall of the restaurant. She slid into the booth next to Sam, their backs against the wall, with Cass and Dean sitting next to each other on the other side. Their waitress came up and asked them for their drink choices, everyone choosing water.

"So, you have an Instagram?" Sam turned in his seat and looked down at Ellie with a stern look.

She looked up at him with a cheesy smile, her teeth showing as she tried to pull her sweetest look out.

"How long have you had it?"

"Since February," she mumbled, turning to her napkin and taking her silverware out.

"What? You told me a couple months," Dean asked incredulously.

Ellie shrugged, "I just under-exaggerated the truth."

"That's called lying, Ellie," Cass spoke up, giving her a disappointed look.

"I get it, you're all mad at me for being on social media," she held up her hands, shaking her head. "Sorry."

"Let me see it," Sam reached for her phone that was sitting in her lap. She snatched it away from his grasp, holding it to the opposite side from him.

"What? No," she hissed.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Either you show me, or I'll take your phone away."

Ellie moaned, then closed her eyes and reluctantly handed over the device into her father's waiting hand. He swiped her phone open, already knowing her passcode and scrolling until he found the Instagram application. His eyes narrowed as he pulled up her profile, looking at the pictures she had posted. Most of them were just selfies, and thank Chuck they weren't anything inappropriate. There were a few pictures of meals, and even a couple of random objects around the bunker.

"Satisfied?" Ellie asked as Dean and Cass both leaned over the table to look at the photos with Sam. "Come on guys, I'm not stupid. It's harmless."

"Social media is never harmless, Ellie," Cass leaned back into the booth, his eyes narrowed at her. "Look at this last case."

Ellie rolled her eyes at the angel and heard the bell ring as a family entered the restaurant. She allowed her gaze to travel over to the door, making a squeaking noise when she saw who had entered. She reached her elbow over to her father's ribs, jabbing repeatedly.

"Hold on, Ellie," he grabbed her elbow as he continued scrolling through her profile. She then turned almost completely backwards in the seat, resting her face against his shoulder.

"Dad," she hissed, gripping his bicep with all of her strength.

"Ow," he moaned, finally turning to look at her, "What are you doing?"

"He's _here_," she whimpered, gesturing with her head towards the door. Sam turned and looked, seeing a family of two parents and two teenagers waiting to pick a seat.

"The boy?" he asked, much too loudly for Ellie's liking.

"Yes," she whispered, "Can we go?"

"Ellie," he leaned down so his mouth was right next to her ear, "Stop. He's only going to notice you if you keep freaking out."

She sighed and slowly turned, trying to fight the urge to look over there again. Sam pulled out his phone and texted Cass and Dean to inform them of the situation. Although he also told them to act nonchalant, they of course instantly whipped their heads around simultaneously to stare at the family. Ellie shrunk down in her seat, one hand covering her blushing face.

"I think we should go talk to him," Dean reached his arms out and cracked his knuckles, making a tough face.

"Do _not_," Ellie hissed, kicking her foot under the table into Dean's shin.

"Ow," he groaned, reaching under to rub his now sore leg. "I _was_ kidding, but now I might actually do it."

Luckily their waitress appeared then, bringing their drinks. She took their order, which merely consisted of Dean and Ellie each ordering a slice a pie, and left. As she walked away, Ellie smiling up at her, she made the mistake of looking around the restaurant, accidentally making eye contact with a particular teenage boy.

He looked at her with an intrigued look at first, then nodded in understanding and smiled, giving her a quick wave. Ellie tried to form a smile, throwing her hand up to wave back.

"See?" Sam leaned over to whisper to her.

"Shut up," she murmured, nudging his ribcage again before she dared to take another glance. "Oh my god he's coming over."

"Really?" Dean kept his eyes on the table, trying to use his peripheral vision to see any action.

"All of you, _please_ don't talk for the next thirty seconds," she turned and begged them, her puppy dog eyes in full affect. "I'm begging you."

Garrett walked up to the table, his hands in his jeans pockets. "Are you Ellie?"

"Um, yeah," she smiled.

"I thought so," he grinned, sticking his hand out, "I'm Garrett. Garrett Bryce."

"Yeah, I know," she giggled, biting her lip nervously as they shook hands. "It's nice to meet you. You know, in real life."

"Yeah," Garrett chuckled, running a hand through his blonde spiky hair. His eyes went through all three of the men at the booth, his mouth opened as he tried to figure out who they were.

"This is my dad," Ellie pointed to Sam, then to Dean and Cass, "And my uncles."

Garrett stuck his hand out to Sam, smiling. "Nice to meet you, sir."

Sam shook his hand, squeezing just a little too hard, but not enough to hurt the kid. "Nice to meet you too."

"Well, I should get back," Garrett chuckled, then gave Ellie a small wave. "I'll see ya."

"See ya," she repeated back, watching as he went back over to his family. She sighed loudly, a small smile on her face.

"Oh boy," Dean snorted, then waved a hand in front of her face. "You with us?"

"Stop," she hissed, swatting his hand away.

"He seemed nice," Cass said slowly, "I suppose."

Ellie turned and looked up at her dad, who was still looking at Garrett from across the room. "Dad, stop staring at him."

Sam finally let his gaze come back to the table, his eyes turning to make eye contact with his daughter.

"You know you're not allowed to date until you're thirty, right?"

**A/N: Figured I'd add a little fluff at the end after the angst the last couple chapters. : ) Thanks for the reviews y'all!**


	9. Chapter 9

When they arrived home, Ellie threw her bag on the floor of the library and went to run to her room, only to be stopped when Sam grabbed the collar of her t shirt.

"Don't think you're off the hook," he looked down at her with a stern look. "We still have some things to discuss."

Ellie sighed, biting her lip and plopping down into a library chair. She watched as Dean and Cass came into the room, both of them looking at Sam as he stood with his arms crossed at the end of the table. Ellie expected her father to send them away, and was surprised when the other men instead dropping their bags and moved to stand next to Sam.

"Really?" she held her hands out and looked up at them incredulously as they all walked over in front of her. Sam turned her chair away from the table, allowing all three of them to surround her.

"So you ran away," It was more a statement than a question out of Sam's lips. Ellie tightened her jaw and took a deep breath.

"Um, kind of."

"Uh-uh," Dean held up a finger. "You're gonna do that thing where you tell the whole truth. No lies."

"Fine," Ellie huffed, crossing her arms. "Yes. I ran off. But it doesn't matter because Uncle Dean caught me."

"It _does_ matter," Cass spoke up, his eyes narrowed as he stared down at her. "What if he hadn't caught you?"

Ellie shrugged, looking down to the ground. "I'm sure I would've been fine."

"And that's the problem," Sam growled, putting his hands on his hips. "You think you're invincible. The one thing that you should've learned from this hunt is that you are not immortal, and yet you still don't get it."

She met his eyes, recognizing the anger seething on his face. She took a deep breath, choosing her next words carefully. She knew that if she said the wrong thing, her father was never going to let her out of the bunker again.

"I know I'm not invincible," she mumbled, biting the inside of her cheeks. "But I'm not a baby."

"Well," Sam exhaled sharply out his nose, "Until you learn to adhere to a certain…decorum while on a hunt, you're grounded."

"From what?" Ellie almost didn't want to ask.

"Everything related to hunting," Dean supplied, his lips pursing. "No boxing, no shooting, no research, no nothing."

"That's not fair," she leaned forward, her eyes darting between the three men.

"I actually thought it was a little lenient," Cass tightened his jaw. "Dean and I thought you should have your phone taken away too, but your father convinced us otherwise."

"How long?" she muttered, looking down at the floor.

"A month," Sam replied.

"What?" her eyes turned down in a frown as she glared up at him. "That's after my birthday."

"And?" Dean tilted his head, shaking it. "So what?"

"That means I can't go on a hunt for my birthday?" she whispered, looking down at her hands and fidgeting.

"That is what that means," Cass replied.

"Sorry squirt," Dean shrugged, his arms crossed. "Hopefully you'll learn your lesson."

Ellie sighed dramatically before looking up at Sam, a hardened look on her face. "Can I go now?"

Sam nodded and backed up, the three men giving her room to stand and slowly walk to the doorway. Her shoulders were drooped forward as she tried to make herself look as pitiful as possible. She stopped before entering the war room, turning her head slightly to look at them with her infamous puppy dog eyes.

"Nice try," Sam snorted.

"Fine," she huffed, spinning on her heels and marching down the steps loudly.

Sam shook his head and chuckled as he watched her, moving to sit in the chair she had abandoned. Dean and Cass followed suit, each falling into their own chairs. They all collectively sighed, none of them looking anywhere in particular.

"What _are_ we doing for her birthday?" Cass finally broke the silence.

"I hadn't even thought about it," Sam mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"I can't believe she's gonna be thirteen," Dean whispered mainly to himself, looking down at his hands. "We're about to enter the years of hell."

"It seems that we already have," Cass chuckled softly.

Sam leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. "Do you think she even wants a party?"

"I don't think she wants a party with us," Dean scoffed. "But there's no one else we could invite. We gotta get the kid some friends, man."

"I know," Sam mumbled, placing his hands over his face. "But how the hell are we supposed to find friends for her?"

Cass sat up in his chair then, eyes bright with an idea. "Claire told me about a website she recently created for hunters to connect, I wonder if there are any young people on it?"

"A website for hunters?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

The angel nodded. "Yes, the last time we spoke she said there were already over a thousand hunters on it."

"I don't know if I want her online with a bunch of hunters," Sam muttered, "Who knows what kind of people there are?"

"Maybe we could monitor it somehow," Dean shrugged, "The kid has to get a social life that isn't limited to us, two cops, a demon and a witch."

"I guess," Sam nodded slightly, not wanting to admit that his brother was right. He knew that Ellie needed to get out in the real world more, but it still worried him. "Cass, will you have Claire send me a link so I can check it out?"

"Sure," the angel nodded, pulling out his phone.

"So what did you think of Garrett?" Dean mumbled, trying to hold back his smile. Sam's head whipped over to his brother and glared at him, his jaw tightened. "You know she's going to start dating eventually, right?"

"I don't think I want her to ever start dating," Cass leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table. "The thought makes my stomach hurt."

Sam and Dean both snorted, shaking their heads. Cass looked at them with a confused frown, tilting his head in that special Castiel way.

"I need to make an Instagram," Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket, "So I can keep an eye on hers."

"You mean so you can stalk that Garrett kid."

"Shut up."

* * *

Sam woke up that night, feeling Ellie shoving his shoulder roughly. He opened one eye and sat up abruptly, turning on his lamp when he saw the terror in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, but she flinched and pulled away. "Ellie?"

She wrapped her arms around herself, backing up to the wall. "I need you to call Jody."

Sam's face scrunched in confusion before he glanced over to the clock on his bedside table. He ran a hand down his face, sighing. "El, it's four in the morning. What's going on?"

Ellie looked down at the ground, biting her lips with a deep frown on her face. She started switching her weight back and forth between her feet, moaning quietly.

"Ellie," Sam stood up from his bed, looking down at her with his hands on his hips.

She finally slowly looked up to meet his eyes, a blush evident on her cheeks. "I…I'm bleeding."

Sam stopped the grunt that sounded in his throat, his chest heaving as his lungs burned with air. He tried to stay calm, since Ellie was currently staring into his eyes, but he knew he was exuding much more anxiety than he wanted. Once her eyes started welling with tears, he tilted his head and gave her a look that he hoped she recognized as sympathy and not pity.

"Okay," he sighed, bending over and pulling the box out from under his bed. Jody had filled it with multiple types of supplies, and even put a small index card that she labeled 'things to know about periods' for Sam. "Are your sheets…?"

Ellie nodded, the blush deepening on her face and down her neck. "I didn't know what to do."

"Okay listen, go get in the shower and put on some new pajamas," Sam smiled. "I'll go take care of your bed."

"Okay," she mumbled, looking at the box Sam had pulled out.

"Do you remember what Jody taught you about these things?" Sam whispered, pointing to the sanitary napkins.

"Yeah," she muttered, looking down at the floor before grabbing the box and heading for the bathroom.

Sam stayed in his bedroom for a brief moment, closing his eyes and turning his head to the ceiling. He drew a shaky breath, then turned and grabbed his phone. Although it was too late to call Jody, he could at least shoot her a text. He hurriedly typed a quick message, asking her to call him in the morning. He then ventured down the hall to Ellie's room, stripping her bed and tossing the sheets into the large soaking sink in the laundry room. He went back and placed a new set of bedding on her mattress, standing in her room for a minute with his hands on his hips. He looked at the pictures on her wall, smiling at the memories.

Ellie suddenly appeared behind him, her hair in a towel. He turned and couldn't help but smile at what she was wearing. She had a pair of gray sweatpants on, with the AC/DC shirt from her first week in the bunker. She hadn't even slightly grown into it, but at least it didn't hang on the floor anymore.

"Feel better?" he stepped forward, putting his hands in his pockets. Ellie shrugged, then looked around the room with her arms crossed. "You ready to go back to bed?"

She shook her head, her arms moving down to her lower abdomen. "My stomach hurts."

Sam sighed, his lips tightening together. He remembered from his time with Jess that period cramps were no picnic, and she had told him that with some girls the first one was the worst.

"Yeah, that's unfortunately part of it," he whispered, smiling down at her. "I think Jody put some pain meds in that box. You want to go watch a movie or something?"

"Sure," she mumbled, shrugging as she took the towel off of her hair.

"Okay," Sam nodded, holding his hand out for Ellie to make her way to the movie room. They walked carefully past Dean's room, not wanting to wake him up.

"I'll go get you the pills, pick a movie," he tossed the remote for their streaming device to her before leaving the room. As he walked towards the bathroom to get the box, he jumped when he walked through the door and saw Dean rubbing his eyes, having just washed his hands.

"It happened, huh," Dean mumbled, gesturing towards the box with his head.

"Yeah," Sam scoffed, squatting and looking through the many objects before he landed on a bottle of Midol. He shook it for no real reason before standing back up and looking at his brother. "Her stomach hurts, so we're just gonna watch a movie."

"Is she all," he paused, shaking his head, "stocked up?"

"I think so," Sam looked down at the box. Jody had definitely made sure that they would be prepared.

"I'll go get the poor kid some chocolate in the morning," Dean mumbled, walking past Sam and patting his shoulder. "She's officially growing up."

"Shut up," Sam muttered, shoving Dean into the hallway before following him. As Sam walked into the TV room, he saw Ellie curled up on the couch, her arms wrapped around her stomach. He sighed, and handed her the two pills. She looked around and grabbed an abandoned bottle of water on the table next to the couch, downing the medications. While most children her age would have trouble swallowing such large pills, she had been used to taking them since she was young, as it was easier for Sam and Dean to get pills than it was to get liquid medication.

"Thanks," she whispered as Sam sat next to her on the couch and the opening scene of a movie started.

"What are we watching?" Sam rested his arms over the back of the couch and propped his feet onto the coffee table in front of them, smiling as Ellie slowly scooted closer to him.

"Men in Black."

Sam chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Really?"

"Jody said that I'll have a lot of emotions," she shrugged, picking at her hands. "I don't want to cry."

He looked down at her, then nudged her with his hand on her opposite shoulder. She looked up at him and he gestured towards himself with his head. She bit her lip for a brief moment before moving her body against his side, her head resting on his chest. He dropped his arm to wrap around her shoulders, and gave her a quick squeeze as she snuggled into him. He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her hair before leaning his head onto hers.

"Dad?"

"Yeah baby?"

"Love you."

"I love you too," he whispered, giving her shoulders another tight squeeze.

"Man," she moaned, turning so her face was against his side. "Being a girl sucks."

* * *

**A/N: I know it's been a few days since I updated, my bad! Class started back up so I don't have as much time as I did on winter break. Looking forward to some new reviews! ; )**


	10. Chapter 10

Dean woke up the next morning a little earlier than usual, his alarm blaring. He had set it so he could get up and make Ellie breakfast, since he knew that she was not going to have a good day no matter what anyone did. He remembered when Lisa was on her period, and she always enjoyed a nice greasy breakfast. Ellie's favorite breakfast food was chocolate chip pancakes, so Dean was determined to make it happen for her.

He got up and stretched before padding down the hallway. As he passed Sam and Ellie's rooms, he wasn't surprised to see they weren't in them. He knew that Ellie had probably just stayed awake from her 'surprise' in the middle of the night. When he walked past the TV room, his eyes caught a slight movement from the couch. He stopped in the doorway and smiled when he saw Sam and Ellie passed out.

Sam had his head resting on the back of the couch, his mouth dropped open as he snored softly. His right arm was resting on Ellie's hip, with his left hand draped over the back of the couch. Ellie had her head on Sam's lap, her legs curled up on the cushions. Dean shook his head with a smile before pulling out his phone and snapping a quick picture, knowing that he would eventually get it printed out for Ellie's collection on her wall.

He walked to the kitchen, surprised to find Cass already there with a pot of coffee starting.

"Morning," he greeted the angel, walking to the fridge and opening it to inspect the ingredients.

"Good morning, Dean," Cass replied. "You're awake before Sam?"

"Sam had a long night," Dean chuckled as he moved around the few items in the fridge to try and figure out how to make her a good breakfast with what he had available.

"Really?" Cass tilted his head.

"Yeah," Dean sighed and turned, jumping when he realized Cass was right on the other side of the fridge door as he closed it. "Ellie, uh…she started her period last night."

Cass's eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly. "Oh."

"Yup," Dean nodded, "I want to make her a big breakfast, but I don't have the right stuff to make it. You wanna go on a run with me?"

"Ellie loves the food from Paul's Cafe," Cass mumbled as Dean walked towards the door. "We could bring her breakfast from there."

Dean smiled at the angel. "That sounds like a great plan. Let's do it."

"I'll leave Sam a note," Cass said, grabbing a piece of paper and writing a quick blurb before they both walked to the garage.

* * *

When Sam woke up, the first thing he noticed was how dry his mouth was. The second thing he thought about was how difficult it was to raise his head due to the pain in his neck. He slowly brought his head up, groaning when the muscles in his spine spasmed. He tilted his head from side to side, trying to calm down the pain when he looked down and saw Ellie stirring on his lap. He smiled and placed a hand on her hair, gently brushing it away from her face. She moaned and turned her face into his thigh, rubbing her nose against his leg.

"Morning," Sam said quietly, continuing to rub her hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a vamp is gnawing away at my insides," she mumbled, bringing her hands up to her face as she slowly sat up.

"You can probably have more of those pills by now," Sam looked at his watch, realizing it had been almost exactly six hours.

"Okay," she muttered, taking a deep breath before she got up and shuffled to the hallway. "I have to go to the bathroom, but I'm hungry."

"I'll go see what we have to make for breakfast," Sam stood up, his hand instantly grabbing his back as the pain shot down his spine again. He groaned, knowing he was getting too old to sleep in a sitting position.

As he walked in to the kitchen, he saw a piece of paper on the table. He walked over and picked it up, chuckling when he recognized Cass's handwriting.

_Getting food for Ellie and her uterus. -C & D_

Sam snorted when he finished reading it, shaking his head. He sighed and walked back to the hallway, venturing towards his room to get dressed. He ran into Ellie coming out of the bathroom, and saw her holding the bottle of pills from the box.

"I take two, right?" she mumbled, trying to open the bottle.

Sam took it from her, pushing down and turning to pull the top off. "Don't take medication without asking me first."

"Fine," she whispered, taking the pills from him. "Is Uncle Dean making breakfast?"

"Actually, he and Cass went out to get food," Sam shrugged. "They'll probably be back soon. Why don't you go get dressed?"

"I don't want to," she wrapped her arms around her AC/DC shirt, looking at the floor. "I'm comfy."

"Okay," Sam smiled, rubbing the top of her head and making her wiggle out from under his grasp.

"Stop," she whined, reaching up and swatting his hand away. "Can you text them and see when they're going to be home?"

"Sure," Sam pulled out his phone and shot his brother a quick message. "I'm going to go get dressed."

"I'll be in the kitchen," Ellie grumbled, walking slowly down the hall.

Sam watched her walk away, shaking his head. As cliche as it sounded, he felt like she had grown overnight. He knew that she was still the same kid from yesterday, but just knowing that this physical change had occurred made him nostalgic. He went into his room and got dressed quickly before joining Ellie in the kitchen.

"This sucks," she sat at the kitchen table, one hand around her midsection and the other under her head.

"I know honey," Sam walked over and sat next to her, rubbing her back softly. "I'm sorry."

"The only thing you have to be sorry for is that you don't have a uterus," she snapped, moaning.

"I…okay," he pulled his lips inside his teeth, shaking his head.

"What's taking Uncle Dean and Uncle Cass so long?" she sat up and whined, sighing loudly.

"They'll be back any minute," Sam mumbled, pulling his phone from his pajama pants and checking to make sure he didn't have any missed calls. He had a single text from Dean.

**_On our way home, I had to bully the cook._**

Sam looked at his phone in confusion, then shook his head. Who knew what the heck Dean was talking about. Just as he was about to put his phone on the table, it began to ring. He saw Jody's name, and quickly stood up and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sam, sorry. I just woke up and saw your message, what's going on?"

Sam turned and smiled quickly at Ellie before taking a step into the hallway. "It happened."

"What?"

"_It _happened."

"Sam, what are you—Oh. _Oh_."

"Yeah," Sam peeked back into the kitchen, seeing Ellie still at the kitchen table, her eyes glued to her phone screen.

"Well," she paused, taking a deep breath. "How's she taking it?"

"Okay, I guess? She's been having some pretty bad cramps."

"Did you give her some of those pills I put in the box?"

"Yes," Sam replied. "I think they helped a little."

"Do you guys have a heating pad?"

"What? I don't know."

"Heat helps with cramps," Jody sighed. "Have her eat a banana too."

"Are you going to tell me that bananas are good for periods?" Sam scoffed.

"Sam, I love you like my own son, but if you don't have a vagina, you do not get to have an opinion on period remedies."

Sam winced, then chuckled softly. "Okay okay, I'm sorry. Any other tips?"

"We've had this conversation," Jody exhaled sharply, "You know how to handle this. You'll be fine. And if you're not, just call me."

"Alright," he mumbled, chewing on the inside of his cheeks. "I'll talk to you later. And Jody?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Any time. Tell Ellie I love her."

Sam hung up the phone and sighed deeply before turning back to the kitchen. His eyes widened dramatically when he saw that Ellie was about to throw her phone across the room.

"Hey! What's going on?" he rushed forward and grabbed her wrist before she could hurl the object.

"I don't want to talk about it," she yanked her arm back and threw her head onto her arms. Sam let out a long breath through his teeth, closing his eyes.

"You were just about to throw your phone, Ellie," he sighed. She mumbled something with her face in her arms that Sam was unable to make out. "What?"

"I said that Garrett is seeing someone," she yanked her head up and stared at him, her face hardened.

"Oh," Sam tried to find something else to say, but didn't want to further upset her.

"He posted a picture of him with his arm around a girl," Ellie continued, swiping on her phone until she landed on the photo and turning it to show Sam. "See?"

Sam raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her phone. It was like she said, an image of Garrett with a dark haired teenage girl next to him, his arm around her shoulders as they both smiled at the camera.

"Okay," Sam began carefully, handing the phone back to Ellie. "That could be his sister."

"His sister has blonde hair."

"Could be a cousin—"

"Dad, it's not," Ellie snapped, looking up at him. "He has a girlfriend."

"You don't know that," Sam whispered, sighing.

Ellie looked at her phone before biting her lip and taking a deep breath. "She's really pretty."

"Hey," Sam reached down and grabbed her face in his hands, ignoring her attempts to pull away. "You are beautiful. Inside and out."

"Shut up," she refused to look him in the eyes even though he was holding her head about six inches from his face.

"Ellie," he whispered, drawing a sharp intake when he realized there were tears forming in her eyes. "Eleanor."

"Don't call me that," she mumbled, still looking anywhere else but her father's eyes.

"Fine, how about Princess? Pumpkin? Sweetie pie?"

Sam's attempt of lightening the mood worked, and Ellie instantly smiled, trying to shake her head.

"You're a dork," she chuckled softly, finally looking him in the eye with a small smile.

"So are you," he leaned forward and kissed her nose before letting her out of his hands. Just as she turned back to the table, they heard the familiar sound of the door to the garage banging closed. "Sounds like they're back."

"Finally," she moaned, "They'd better have gotten good food."

Dean and Cass walked into the kitchen, both with their hands full of large paper bags. Ellie recognized the symbol on the side of the bags and her eyes visibly brightened.

"Is that from Paul's cafe?" she squealed, jumping off the table and running over to where Cass and Dean were setting the bags on the counter.

"Yes," Cass smiled, "I knew it was your favorite."

Ellie grinned and lunged at the angel, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Thanks Uncle Cass."

"You're welcome," he smiled as he hugged her back.

"What'd you guys get?" Ellie pulled away and watched as Dean began unloading the bags.

"Well," Dean sighed, "The cook didn't want to make chocolate chip pancakes, but I uh, convinced him otherwise."

"Yes, from now on, we aren't allowed to go to Paul's Cafe if Dean is with us," Cass muttered, narrowing his lips together.

"What the hell did you do?" Sam snorted, watching as the other men brought out boxes and boxes of food.

"I may have threatened him a teeny tiny bit," Dean held up two fingers, demonstrating a small amount.

"You showed him your gun and told him you'd use it, Dean."

"Hush," Dean hissed, whipping his head to glare at the angel. He then walked over to Ellie and threw an arm around her shoulder, smiling down at her. "My favorite niece needed chocolate chip pancakes."

"I'm your only niece," she shoved him away with a laugh.

"Still," Dean shrugged, "Got you all the good stuff. Bacon, sausage, hash browns and more."

Ellie grinned madly as she grabbed a plate from the shelf and came back to the counter, loading up on all of the glorious food before her. She took most of the bacon, and when Dean began to complain she just shot him a quick glare before continuing.

"This is amazing," she sighed, closing her eyes as she chewed on a piece of bacon. "Thanks you guys."

"You're welcome," Cass responded, smiling. He had always enjoyed seeing Ellie happy, whether it be a result of him buying her a new toy when she was little or buying her food as she grew older. "Oh, and Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"I am so sorry to hear about your uterine lining."

* * *

**A/N: So how about that episode Thursday night, huh?! Also, sorry it's been a while since I posted, I took my nursing boards yesterday so I was studying like crazy. I'll know Monday if I passed or not! **


	11. Chapter 11

"Uncle Cass?"

The angel looked up from his book, tilting his head when he saw Ellie standing in the doorway of his bedroom.

"Hello Ellie."

She shifted her weight between her feet, looking at the ground. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Cass closed his book and swung his legs off the bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress. Ellie slowly walked closer, crossing her arms.

"I'm asking you this, because I know you'll be honest," she spoke quietly as she plopped down onto the foot of his bed, pulling her legs up under her.

"I always am," Cass gave her a small smile.

"Angels can't lie," Ellie chuckled softly, looking down and playing with her fingers. She remained silent for a minute, breathing slowly and biting her lips.

"Ellie?" Cass whispered, his head leaned forward to try and catch her gaze. She finally looked up and made eye contact, her hazel eyes glistening with a hint of tears forming.

"Am I pretty?"

Cass sighed loudly, the corners of his mouth turning up into a small smile as he watched Ellie's internal struggle. He knew that with everything that had happened the last couple weeks, combined with her increasing hormone levels had made her much more emotional than normal.

Ellie began shaking her head quickly, huffing a breath out of her nose as she moved to scoot off of the bed.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer, I just—"

"Ellie," Cass reached out and grabbed her upper arm, and her head whipped back to look at him. "Sit down."

She sighed, and fell back to her spot, bending her legs and wrapping her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees, looking down at the sheets on the bed.

"Look at me," Cass whispered, waiting to continue speaking until Ellie finally allowed her eyes to meet his. "You are one of the most beautiful humans I have ever met."

Ellie rolled her eyes and let out a long breath. "Uncle Cass—"

"Let me finish," he held up a finger, closing his eyes briefly. "Physical appearance is not the only way that I define beauty, Ellie. As an angel, I am able to view a human's soul. Every single human soul is different, much like snowflakes."

"I know that," Ellie sighed, earning her another look from Cass that made her stop interrupting.

"Your soul, Ellie," he began, shaking his head with a smile, "It's golden. Much like those beautiful rings of yellow that surround your pupils. You look like a sunrise over a mountaintop. Your soul shines brighter when you listen to your favorite music, and when you eat your favorite foods. When you laugh, your soul shimmers as if you are covered in glitter."

"Really?" Ellie asked quietly, her mouth slowly curving into a smile.

Cass nodded. "However, the times when I've witnessed your soul at its brightest are when you're talking to your family or friends. When you are helping someone else. When you hug your father, both of your souls are so brilliant that I often have to look away."

Ellie allowed a single tear to fall down her cheek before hurriedly reaching up and wiping it away with her sleeve.

"I hope that answers your question," Cass reached out and placed a tentative hand on her cheek, smiling sweetly at her.

Ellie pulled her lips between her teeth for a brief moment before she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the angel's waist. Cass sighed and engulfed her top half in his embrace, resting his chin on top of her head. They remained like that for a minute until Ellie slowly pulled away, sniffing quietly.

"Love you," she looked up and smiled at him.

Cass instantly grinned, loving every time she told him that. "I love you too, Sunshine."

"Sunshine?" she looked up at him with an eyebrow cocked.

"I feel that it's an appropriate nickname, given the color of your soul," Cass shrugged. Ellie scrunched her nose up, and shook her head briefly. "What about Sunny?"

"I can handle that," she chuckled softly, closing her eyes.

"Everything okay?" Sam's voice piped up from the doorway, where neither of them realized he had been standing.

Ellie turned her head and shot him a quick smile before sliding off of the mattress and walking over to him. She looked back to Cass for a moment before leaning forward and slowly placing her arms around her father's waist. Sam looked confused for a second before he hugged her back, chuckling softly to himself. Ellie turned her head just enough to be able to see Cass, who was squinting presumably from the bright light that was shining from their souls. She giggled, and gave Sam one last squeeze before letting him go and looking up to him.

"What was that for?" Sam asked, rubbing the top of her hair. He expected her to reach up and push his hand away like normal, but she just let him run his fingers along her scalp as she smiled up at him.

"No reason," she shrugged, stealing a quick look back to the angel, who was sitting on his bed with a normal expression. "I'm gonna go get a snack."

Sam watched her walk down the hallway, his face scrunched up in confusion. He turned back to Cass, an eyebrow raised. "What the hell did you say to her?"

Cass shrugged, grabbing his book and opening it to the page he had stopped on. "I just explained her beauty to her."

"Oh…kay," Sam spoke slowly, nodding. "Hey, I looked at Claire's website."

"And?" Cass continued reading, knowing very well how good he was at multitasking.

"And," Sam paused, taking a deep breath, "I think I'm going to let her do it."

"Really?" Cass looked at him over the pages.

"Yup."

"I think that's a good decision," Cass nodded. "I worry that she's already very far behind regarding social interactions since she's only learned from the three of us and movies."

"Hey, we have plenty of other people that she's learned from," Sam furrowed his brow, crossing his arms defensively.

"Yes; a witch, the king of hell, and other hunters."

"And Alex," Sam mumbled, "She's not technically a hunter."

Cass tilted his head with his eyebrows raised, "Sure she's not."

Sam cleared his throat, "Speaking of Rowena, she's on her way over. She said she has something for Ellie."

"It's probably for her birthday," Cass shrugged, "It's only ten days away."

"I'm aware, Cass," Sam chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "I still have no idea what to give her."

"Well, it's much more difficult to pick something since she's grounded from hunting," Cass sighed, "Because there are plenty of things related to _that_ that we could get her."

"I know," Sam moaned, biting his lip. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

Sam gave Cass a quick head nod before he walked down the hallway, shaking his head with a chuckle when he heard Ellie squealing from the war room.

"Auntie Rowena!"

He walked into the room, smiling as Ellie jogged up the steps to meet Rowena. When she reached the top, she wrapped her arms around the witch and squeezed tightly. Ellie was a few inches taller than Rowena now, and the witch seemed perplexed by this.

"My goodness you've gotten tall," Rowena chuckled, her chin resting on Ellie's shoulder.

"Let her come down here, squirt," Dean laughed from where he leaned against the doorway to the library.

Ellie and Rowena walked together down the steps, Ellie continuously turning her head around to talk to the witch.

"I got to go on a hunt, and it was a werewolf, and he was attacking teenage girls and—"

"You gonna tell her the whole story?" Dean crossed his arms as Ellie walked by him, her eyes glaring at him.

"Um," she bit her lip, internally cursing her uncle as she turned around and made eye contact with Rowena. "I also got in trouble."

"Ah," Rowena nodded, her eyes flicking over to Sam briefly. He had already told her the story last week, but she figured she would let Ellie continue.

"I might have run away for a minute," Ellie muttered, shrugging, "But I'm never going to do that again, and I'm grounded from hunting for another seventeen days. Not that I'm counting."

"I see," Rowena smiled, turning her head and opening her bag. "Then I suppose I'll have to give your father your gift to hold on to."

"Rowena," Sam warned quietly, worried about what she was about to pull out of her bag. Rowena turned her head to look at him, tilting her head at him with narrowed eyes before she pulled out a small book.

"Oh Samuel, it's nothing dangerous," she held the book out in front of her, waiting for him to take it. Sam carefully accepted the book, then opened it and began skimming through the pages.

"A spell book?" he raised his eyebrows and tightened his jaw as he glared down at Rowena.

She waved her hand at him, scoffing, "They're all simple and relatively harmless spells. Do you really think I would put her in danger?"

"I don't want her doing spells," Dean growled from behind her.

"Dean, dear," Rowena turned slowly, blinking exaggeratively as she looked at him. "They're only spells for protecting herself. If I understood your brother correct last week, you've been teaching her how to fight and shoot a gun. My spells are much less dangerous than that."

"It's fine," Sam sighed, making Dean shoot him a look.

"Excuse me?"

"Hello," Ellie waved her arms, her face scrunched in anger. "Don't I get a say?"

"No."

Sam and Dean's responses were simultaneous, which made Ellie roll her eyes. Dean shot her a quick glare, which made her sigh and cross her arms.

"Listen, she won't be doing spells without me there any ways, and I know most of these," Sam shrugged.

"I still don't like it," Dean grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Boys, I know you—"

"Are there any love spells?"

Everyone in the room froze at Ellie's words, their gazes snapping to her. Her eyes bugged out of her head when she realized that instead of thinking it, she had accidentally said it out loud.

"Is this about that Garrett kid?" Sam growled, walking towards her.

"Dad, stop," she held up a hand.

"What happened with Garrett?" Dean narrowed his eyes at her.

"Nothing, he—"

"He has a girlfriend," Sam turned and looked at his brother.

Dean's jaw tightened, "What? I'm gonna go find him and—"

"Stop," Ellie shouted, reaching up and covering her ears with her hands. "Just stop, all of you!"

"Ellie," Sam sighed, extending his hand to touch her shoulder. She jerked away from him, looking up at him with tears stinging her eyes.

"Just leave me alone," she hissed before spinning around and running down the hallway. Sam moved to take a step and follow her but was stopped when Dean grabbed his arm.

"Don't," he said quietly, "She just needs some alone time."

Sam turned and looked at Dean, a defeated demeanor on his face. He let out a slow shaky breath before he shook his head and wiggled out of his brother's grip to run after her. Dean dropped his shoulders and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm going to take my leave," Rowena spoke softly, resting a hand on Dean's arm. "You boys can handle this, I know it."

"I'm not so sure anymore," Dean scoffed, shaking his head. "I feel like we're screwing her up."

Rowena shook her head briefly, a smile on her face. "I know what it looks like when a child is being 'screwed up', dear. Eleanor will be fine."

"Thanks Rowena," Dean whispered as she turned to leave.

Sam jogged down the hallway, his eyes searching every open door he came across, although he knew exactly where she had run off to. As he neared her bedroom, he sighed when he saw it was shut. The only time she had her door shut was when she was angry. Sam walked up to the door and knocked on it three times.

"Go away."

"Open the door, Ellie."

"No."

"I could just break it down," Sam took several deep breathes, his jaw tightening in anger.

"Do it then."

Sam closed his eyes and turned his back to the door, leaning against it and sliding down the cold wood until his bottom hit the floor.

"Please, El?" he said just loud enough that he knew she could hear him through the door.

"Go away, Dad."

"Nope," he sighed, pulling his legs up and resting his elbows on his knees. "I'm not leaving until you come out and talk to me."

"Then you're going to be sitting in the hallway for a _long_ time."

"Ellie," he moaned, his head leaning back and hitting the door. Suddenly he had an idea and smiled, jumping onto his feet and running down the hallway to his brother's room.

Ellie laid on her bed on her back, her head hanging off the foot of the bed as she browsed instagram. She had heard her father finally get up and leave, so she was just moping until the time came when she absolutely had to leave her bedroom. Just when she realized that she really had to pee, and stood up to walk to the door, she heard a strange noise from outside her room.

"Okay Ellie, if you won't come out, then I'm going to torture you until you do."

Ellie scrunched her face up in confusion, about to question him when she heard the telltale sound of the strings of guitar being plucked. Her eyebrows raised and she reached up to cover her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.

"This is your own fault," Sam yelled as he struggled to play the beginning chords of Free Bird. "This was the only song that Dean would teach me when I was a kid, because it was so easy. I still can't play it very well."

Ellie bit her lips as she slowly walked to the door and leaned her head against the door. While her uncle had played the guitar and sang for her several times in her childhood, the only time she had heard her father sing was when they were all yelling along to AC/DC.

"Alright, here we go," Sam took a deep breath, closing his eyes before he opened his mouth to sing the first verse. He hated singing by himself, but he knew that this would get Ellie out of her room.

Ellie turned around and slid to the ground, listening to her father sing the lyrics. He wasn't an amazing singer, but something about his gravely singing voice made her smile. It reminded her of when she was little and he would sometimes hum to the songs on the radio in the car to help her fall asleep.

When Sam finally came to the end of the slow part, he really hammed it up and strummed the guitar as hard as he could and screeched 'I can't change' until he heard giggling coming from the other side of the door. Ellie finally opened it and shook her head with a smile, reaching out and grabbing the frets of the guitar.

"Please stop that," she chuckled, pulling the guitar from him and resting it against the wall in the hallway.

Sam reached out and placed his hand on her cheek, smiling. "You're my own little free bird, aren't you?"

"Shut up," she whispered, allowing him to pull her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist and took a deep breath. She would never admit it, but the smell of her father always calmed her down.

"Now let's go," Sam pulled away, smiling down at her. "Dean's going to kill me for touching his guitar."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! I passed my test btw! I thought it was time for Cass to have a nickname for Ellie. Also, I sooo appreciate the reviews! : ) **


	12. Chapter 12

"Dad!"

Sam jerked awake, hearing Ellie shouting from down the hall. In the time it took him to jump out of his bed and start running towards her, she was already in his doorway with a terrified look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"There's a bad storm." As she spoke, as if on cue, a loud noise banged on the ceiling. Sam and Ellie both looked up, listening to the whistling wind and loud noises. Ellie remained in the doorway, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she bounced on her heels. Sam looked back to her and sighed, a small smile on his face.

"El, we're underground," he whispered, stepping closer to her. "We've had storms much worse than this one."

"Doesn't mean I like it," she mumbled, looking down at the floor.

"I thought you were over this?" Sam asked, and he got his answer when a loud clap of thunder echoed in the hall and Ellie jumped forward, her face shoved into his chest. He scoffed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"It's not a stupid fear, you know," she muttered, her face still pressed against his shirt. "Not like you with clowns."

"Hey," he moved to try and push her away, chuckling when she tightened the grip her fists had on his shirt. "Rude."

"I just don't like storms," she whispered, turning her head but keeping it against his chest. "They're unpredictable, and tornados are dangerous and—"

"Calm down," Sam recognized that she was getting herself worked up, and started rubbing her back gently. "You know that we're safe in the bunker."

"I know," she sighed, flinching when another loud bang happened. "I can't sleep during storms like this."

Sam turned his face up to the ceiling, his eyes closed. He let out a slow breath before he opened his mouth to speak, "Do you want to sleep in here tonight?"

He was actually silently hoping that she would say no, because he hadn't been sleeping good the last week or so since the werewolf incident, and Ellie had only gotten worse at taking up most of the bed as she'd gotten older.

"I don't have to," she bit her lip nervously, starting to push away from Sam's chest. Just as she was about to turn around and walk down the hall to her bedroom, a particularly loud crack of thunder that shook the walls of the bunker sent a screaming Ellie right into Sam's arms, tears stinging her eyes.

"Come on," he tried not to groan as he half carried her to his bed. He laid down and managed to get her next to him without her letting go of his shirt. Ellie curled into a tight ball and laid next to his side as Sam sprawled out on his back. Her breathing slowed after a while, and she eventually let go of his now stretched out t shirt so he could roll onto his side and go back to sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. He had gotten pushed not only to the edge of his bed, but completely off of it. He had somehow ended up on the floor with a single pillow and no blankets. He sat up abruptly and narrowed his eyes at Ellie's sleeping starfish form, her arms and legs completely spread out as she laid on her back. He was about to get up and leave the room when he noticed that her mouth was clamped shut and there was just the smallest hint of a smile on her lips.

"Aw, she's still asleep," Sam said quietly, standing up and walking to the foot of the bed. "She looks so cute."

Ellie tried her hardest not to move, her abdominal muscles cramping as she held in her laughter. She could sense Sam moving to the bottom of the bed, and was waiting for him to leave the room so she could curl back up under the blankets and go back to sleep. Just when she thought it had been quiet enough that he had left, she felt something grab both of her ankles and pull down hard. She squealed as Sam yanked her to the bottom of the bed and placed both his hands on either side of her head.

"You're a brat, you know that?" he smirked before he shoved her fully onto the floor. "Pushing me out of my own bed."

Ellie grunted as her bottom hit the floor, then glared up at her father and stuck her tongue out. He mimicked her before flopping back onto his bed, grabbing one of his pillows and rubbing his face on it.

"Rude," Ellie moaned, getting to her feet. She looked at her father's resting figure before grinning mischievously and reaching forward to his bare feet.

Sam jumped when Ellie began tickling the bottom of his feet, twisting onto his side and yanking his legs away from her. She giggled and shrugged, crossing her arms.

"That was payback."

"You're in for it now," Sam growled with a smile as he moved to quickly slide off the bed. Ellie recognized his movement and squealed, running down the hall. Sam chased her, and had almost caught up with her as they ran into the library, stopping when they realized it was not empty.

"Mr. Crowley?"

The demon turned slowly, a smile forming on his face as he made eye contact with the young girl.

"Hi Tiny," he gave a dainty wave. "It pains me to think about the day that you'll outgrow calling me Mr. Crowley, but I'm glad today is not that day."

Ellie smiled wide and jogged up to him, giving him a quick hug. "I'm almost as tall as you now, so you're gonna have to stop calling me Tiny."

"Never," he looked down and gave her a wink. Sam looked over to where Dean and Cass were whispering, his eyes narrowed.

"What's going on guys?" he put his hands on his hips before looking at the demon, "Why are you here, Crowley?"

"What, I'm not allowed to visit my favorite humans?"

"Crowley," Dean sighed, "Tell him."

"Tell me what?" Sam drew a sharp breath, his face furrowing more and more.

"Can we talk in private?" Crowley said quietly, his eyes flickering briefly to Ellie. Sam swallowed loudly and tightened his jaw.

"Ellie, go to your room."

"But Dad I want to—"

"No," he interrupted, his head whipping to look at her. She opened her mouth to argue but he tilted his head and raised his eyebrows at her, and she realized he wasn't going to change his mind.

"Fine," she groaned, rolling her eyes as she walked to the hallway.

Sam waited until she would be out of earshot before he turned back to Crowley, his arms crossed and a serious look on his face.

"What's going on?"

Crowley took a deep breath before walking slowly over to the drink cart and pouring himself a whiskey. He took a quick sip and sighed, his eyes closed.

"Someone's after Tiny."

"What?" Sam yelled, "What are you talking about?"

"Do you remember a vampire by the name of Luca DeBois?" Crowley raised an eyebrow. Sam shook his head for a moment, looking down at the ground while he thought back. "You probably don't, it was almost four years ago."

"What about it?"

"You killed his mate," Crowley continued, gesturing between Sam and Dean, "And you two managed to let him escape."

"Sammy," Dean interjected, stepping towards his brother, "It was that case in Utah. Jody stayed here with Ellie, remember?"

Sam's eyes darted around on the floor as the memories began to flood back. "We killed three vamps, but they wouldn't give up their leader's location."

"That would be Mr. DeBois," Crowley waved his hand out.

"We ended up having to come home early because Ellie got sick, remember?" Dean supplied, "So we had to give up on finding the leader of the nest."

Crowley nodded, "Now, he recently found out that you have a child of your own, and he's sent most of his new and improved nest out looking for her."

"No one knows where the bunker is located though," Cass spoke up. "She'll be safe here."

Crowley held up a finger, "If you think that you've managed to keep her identity hidden for six years, you're sadly mistaken. While the government still thinks that she was kidnapped with her mother on that fateful night, the monster world is a different story."

"Just because they know she exists doesn't mean they know where we live," Sam lowered his voice, anger taking over. "The odds of a vampire finding the bunker—"

"Are about the same as the demon that found it six years ago?" Crowley raised his eyebrows as he looked up at Sam, his lips flattened together. Sam drew a slow breath, his jaw tightening. "I'm sorry Moose, but this situation needs to be taken care of."

"What are we supposed to do?" Dean threw his hands out to the side. "We have to locate an entire vamp nest that's spread out throughout the country?"

"For starters," Crowley sighed, his eyes looking to the ground. "I suggest you recruit as many hunters that you know for this. According to my sources, Luca's nest is fairly expansive. As for me, I'll assemble a team of demons to search for them as well."

"You're going to send a team of demons after a vamp nest?" Dean scoffed.

Crowley turned and tilted his head, "You know well enough that I have a soft spot in my heart for Tiny. If I have to risk some of my kind to save her, then so be it."

"Then go," Sam growled, his fists clenching. "Do it."

"You're welcome," Crowley spat, taking a small bow before he disappeared.

"What the hell are we going to do with Ellie while this is going on?" Dean ran a hand through his hair, turning to his brother.

"I don't know," Sam sighed, "Normally I would say for one of us to stay with her, but I don't want to risk—"

"Take me with you."

Sam whipped his head around and saw Ellie standing in the doorway of the war room, her hands in her pockets. He closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

"You were listening?" It was more of a statement than a question; he already knew the answer.

"If we all stay here, we're just sitting ducks," she threw her hands out to the side as she walked up to Sam slowly. "Take me wherever you go, then you'll know I'm safe."

"That doesn't even make sense," Sam began to shout, his breathing coming faster and faster. "Why would I take you out when there's an entire _nest_ of vamps looking for you?"

"Because you don't have a choice," she stood at his feet, her neck craning to look up at him. "Crowley said it, they know where the bunker is."

"The bunker is monster-proof, Squirt," Dean peeked his head over Sam's shoulder.

"Nothing is ever one hundred percent," she hissed, continuing to glare up at her father's eyes. He clenched his jaw at her words; he had told her the same thing several months ago when they were talking about the odds of Dean returning home from a hunt safely.

"I know that I have wavered before," Sam began, his eyes narrowed, "But you are not leaving this bunker until the entire nest is dead."

"Dad—"

"End of story."

"Come on—"

"Goddamn it Ellie, knock it off!" he snapped loudly, making Ellie flinch. She continued looking up at him for a moment before she nodded slowly and backed away from him. Sam closed his eyes and sighed, dropping his head. When he opened his eyes, Ellie was about two feet from him, her bottom lip trembling with tears welling in her eyes. He moved to take a step towards her, but she moved back as he leaned forward, and it broke his heart to see that she seemed afraid of him for the first time in her life.

"Ellie," Dean whispered, grabbing Sam's shoulder as he moved around him. "Why don't you go to your room?"

She nodded, tears starting to fall as she turned and rushed to the hallway. Dean gestured with his head to Cass, who knowingly followed her. The elder Winchester then turned his attention to his brother, who was staring at the ground where Ellie had been standing.

"Sammy," he spoke softly, leaning down to try and find his gaze.

"I…I don't know what came over me," Sam stuttered, his eyes darting all over the ground. "I've never yelled at her like that."

"She knows you didn't mean it," Dean sighed.

"She was…" he trailed off, trying to steady his voice, "She was afraid of me. Did you see her? She was scared of me."

"She wasn't scared of you," Dean muttered, "she's just scared of the situation."

"I have to go talk to her," Sam drew a shaky breath, trying to move around his brother. Dean put his arm out and stopped him, looking at him with a hardened expression.

"Give her some time, okay?"

"No, I have to tell her that I didn't mean to…that I'm…she has to know," Sam sniffed and tightened his jaw, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Right now she needs space," Dean placed a hand on Sam's chest, half expecting his brother to sock him in the face. Sam's chest heaved with his strong breathes before he finally calmed down and nodded. "We need to call Jody and figure out how many hunters we can get on this."

"Okay," Sam sniffed, nodding eagerly as he pulled out his phone. He pulled up Jody's contact and held his thumb over the call button before looking back up to Dean. "Can you go check on her? Please."

Dean nodded and turned, walking to the hallway towards Ellie's room. As he got to her door, he slowed and listened to Cass's voice from within her bedroom.

"He's just worried."

"I've never felt like that before," Dean heard Ellie's breath catching between her words, and knew that she was still crying. "He never yells like that."

"I know."

"Uncle Cass, can I tell you something and have you not tell my Dad or Uncle Dean?"

Dean quietly leaned against the wall next to her doorway, knowing that he shouldn't be eavesdropping, but given the situation he couldn't help it.

"What is it, Ellie?" Cass asked.

"I'm…I'm really scared," she began sobbing again, and Dean closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall softly. "I just want to stay with my Dad. I don't want him to leave me. I just want my Dad."

Dean took a slow breath as he listened to Ellie's muffled cries. He cleared his throat to announce his presence and walked into her room, biting the inside of his cheek when he saw Ellie sobbing into Cass's shirt. She turned her head and looked at her uncle, her eyes still full of tears. Dean opened his arms and she slowly let go of Cass and walked into his hug, trying not to continue crying.

"Did…did you hear?" she asked between hiccups. Dean just nodded and rubbed the back of her head, holding it against his chest. "I know it's stupid, but normally we're not worried about the monsters coming here."

"I know, this is your safe place," Dean whispered, squeezing her tightly to him.

Ellie pulled her head back and looked up at him, her bottom lip quivering. "I don't want to die."

Dean pulled her back to him, making eye contact with Cass from across the room as Ellie started crying again.

"You won't. I promise."


	13. Chapter 13

The next day, Jody had rallied every hunter she knew and instructed them to go to the bunker to receive their instructions from Sam and Dean. The Winchesters also called in every favor they had owed to them, which meant that their library was currently full of a wide variety of hunter; men, women, anyone who wanted to help.

After talking with Sam, they all decided that two of them would stay at the bunker with Ellie at all times, and the third would be out hunting with another group. While Sam wanted to be the first to get out and hunt some vampires, Dean was able to convince him to stay behind without telling him what Ellie had mentioned.

Ellie was told to stay in her room until the massive group of hunters were done discussing the plan, but she couldn't stay put any longer and carefully snuck to the back hallway so she could listen in. As she neared closer and peeked around the corner, she saw the back of her father's head standing in the doorway of the war room with his hands on his hips. She grinned, knowing he wouldn't be able to see her, and slowly walked along the wall of the war room to be able to see more of the library full of hunters.

"So everyone get into groups of three, and we'll decide who is going where," Sam finished his speech, nodding. All of the hunters began loudly conversing and Sam looked over to where Dean had an eyebrow raised and was pointing to a spot behind his little brother. Sam closed his eyes, already knowing what Dean was pointing to. He stayed in his position and cleared his throat.

"Get in here, Ellie."

She froze for a moment, cursing inwardly that she had allowed herself to be spotted, then slowly walked up the steps behind her father. Sam turned his head to look down at her and she smiled sweetly up at him.

"I was just...coming to get a drink of water?"

"In the library?" Ellie turned when she heard the voice, and instantly grinned.

"Claire!" She ran forward and wrapped her arms around the blonde.

Claire chuckled and gave her a quick squeeze before pulling her away and grabbing her shoulders. "Kid, how the heck did you manage to get a whole nest of vamps after you?"

"It's Dad's fault, not mine," Ellie shrugged, crossing her arms. Sam rolled his eyes and walked away, deciding to go make conversation with the other hunters.

"Where's Alex?" Ellie looked around the room.

Claire waved a hand, "She's at her house with Annie."

Ellie squealed, bouncing on her heels. "Do you have any new pictures of her?"

Claire pulled out her phone with a smile, showing Ellie a picture of the dark haired two year old sitting in her lap. "What kind of an aunt would I be if I didn't have a thousand pictures of my niece?"

"She's so cute," Ellie moaned, running her thumb over the screen.

"Mike is here though," Claire pointed across the room to Alex's husband, who was in the middle of discussing something with Jody. Ellie shot him a quick wave, which he returned with a smile.

"It's weird that Alex ended up marrying a hunter," Ellie shook her head. "She always said she wouldn't."

Claire shrugged, "Yeah, well. Things change. Your dad didn't ever want to have kids, and look at you."

Ellie's smile fell, although she tried to hide it. Claire realized what she said and immediately apologized, putting her hand on Ellie's shoulder.

"Hey, that's not what I meant, I just—"

"I know, it's fine," Ellie forced a smile before faking a yawn. "I'm still a little tired, I'm going to go lay down."

"Okay," Claire was beating herself up on the inside, shaking her head as Ellie quickly walked away.

"Hey Ellie!"

She stopped in the doorway to the war room, sighing deeply before turning around to see who was calling her name.

"Hey Uncle Garth," she smiled, reaching her arms up for him to give her a hug. He picked her up, making her squeal and giggle.

"You're getting so tall," he ruffled the top of her hair once he put her down. "Last time I saw you, you were barely knee high to a grasshopper."

Ellie chuckled and rolled her eyes, playfully pushing on his chest. "Okay Uncle Garth."

"Hey, there's someone I want you to meet," Garth suddenly reached over to the corner of the room where Ellie didn't realize someone was standing and pulled the body close to him. "This is my nephew—"

"Garrett?" Ellie squeaked, trying to clear her throat.

"You're a hunter?" They both said loudly, earning the attention of a few people in the room.

"Wait, this is the girl we're here for?" Garrett turned and looked at his uncle.

"You two know each other?" Garth's eyes flicked back and forth between the two young people.

"Kind of," Ellie wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly very self conscious of the fact that she was wearing an old Metallica shirt of Dean's and a pair of jean shorts with holes in them.

"Just through social media," Garrett said quietly, watching as Ellie looked around on the floor.

"Well shoot," Garth chuckled, slapping his hand on his nephew's back. "Isn't that perfect? You know Ellie, he's named after me. Well, technically after me and my brother Rhett, get it? Garth, Rhett, Garrett?"

"Uncle Garth," Garrett hissed, nudging the werewolf in the ribs.

"Any way," Garth sighed, realizing he was embarrassing his nephew. "I brought him here to keep you company, since you can't leave and all and—"

"Wait what?" Ellie's eyes snapped up at that just as Sam walked up behind her.

"Hey Garth, you're going to—Wait, Garrett?"

"You know him too?" Garth guffawed, slapping his knee, "Well hot dog. Here I thought I was gonna have to convince you to let him stay here."

"Wait what?" Sam shook his head.

"Y'all were telling me how isolated poor Ellie was, so I figured I'd do what I could to remedy the situation," Garth smiled, holding his hands out.

Ellie felt a blush creeping up her neck, and turned to glare at her father before she hurried to the hallway and down to her bedroom. Sam closed his eyes as she left, and dragged his hand down his face.

"Garrett, could you give me a minute with Garth?" He tried to sound nice, he really did, but it must have came out a little harsh because the boy's eyes got big and he rushed away, his head bowed down.

"What's up, Sam?" Garth clapped a hand to the taller man's shoulder.

"Listen, these two have a small history," Sam moaned, "I don't think Ellie is going to want him around here."

"What? He's a fine young man," Garth said defensively, crossing his arms.

"He..." Sam trailed off, turning to make sure the boy was out of earshot, "He was acting like he liked Ellie, but he has a girlfriend."

Garth scrunched his face up in confusion, shaking his head, "No, he doesn't have a girlfriend."

"Yes he does," Sam nodded, "He posted a picture of him with his arm around a girl."

"That was his cousin Sierra, my niece," Garth chuckled, waving a palm at Sam. "She was visiting from California."

Sam sighed, grateful that he wasn't going to have to murder the kid after all. "But still, do you really think Ellie is going to want to hang out with him here until this mess is cleared up?"

Garth pursed his lips in thought, nodding slowly. "Well even if they can't be friends, he can help you boys keep her safe. He's real good with a blade."

Sam scoffed, turning to look at Garrett, "He's what, thirteen?"

"Just turned fourteen actually."

"Still," Sam turned back to Garth, his lips tightened together. He narrowed his eyes at his friend, tilting his head slightly, "He's not a..."

"A lycanthrope?" Garth finished for him, "Nope. He's just a regular ole human hunter's kid. Just like Ellie."

Sam shook his head, looking down at the ground. "She's not gonna like this."

"I'm sure they'll end up being good friends," Garth smiled, patting Sam's shoulder.

Sam turned and made eye contact with Garrett, gesturing with his head for the boy to return to the conversation. Garrett nodded and quickly walked back over, looking at Garth first and then over to Sam.

"So, you want to stay here and help protect Ellie?" Sam crossed his arms. The kid was actually pretty tall, which wasn't surprising given Garth's stature, but Sam still felt the need to make him feel as small as possible.

"Um, I guess?" Garrett looked over to Garth, who gave him a hardened look, "Uh, I mean yes sir."

Sam narrowed his eyes down at the boy, tightening his jaw. He stayed like that for a moment, trying to use every intimidation tactic he had ever learned. Garrett swallowed loudly, then cleared his throat as he shifted back and forth on his feet. Sam let out a long breath and looked over to Garth, who had an expectant smile on his face.

"Fine," Sam muttered.

"Well there ya go," Garth laughed, wrapping his arm around Garrett's shoulders. "I guess you should go get your stuff out of my truck so I can get to killing some vamps."

Sam walked over to Dean and Cass, glancing back to where Garth and Garrett were walking out of the bunker. Cass scrunched his face up when he saw the young man for the first time.

"Isn't that—"

"Yup," Sam sighed. "Get this; he's Garth's nephew."

"Seriously?" Dean raised his eyebrows, "Whoa. Why is he here though? He looks a little too young to be hunting."

"He's uh," Sam paused, running a hand through his hair, "He's gonna he staying with us."

"What?" Dean hissed, "why?"

"He can hang out with Ellie, keep her out of trouble," Sam shrugged, shaking his head.

"But he made her upset," Cass growled, his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, turns out he doesn't have a girlfriend," Sam moaned, "That picture was his cousin."

"Well now I really don't want him staying here," Dean grumbled, "He's a teenager. A teenage boy. We all know what's going through his mind, and it ain't protecting Ellie."

"We'll just have to keep an eye on him," Sam sighed, "Garth says he's a good kid. I trust him."

"Garth I trust," Cass mumbled, "The boy, on the other hand."

Sam groaned and bit his lips, turning as he heard Garrett walking back down the steps with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"Just," Sam paused, shaking his head. "Just watch him."

Dean waited until Sam wandered over to another hunter before he turned to Cass and made intense eye contact.

"Don't let him out of your sight."

Cass nodded, his eyes narrowed as he glared across the room. Garrett walked towards them, a small smile on his face.

"Um hi," he waved a hand, "Could either of you show me where I can put my stuff?"

Dean stared hard at the kid, his arms crossed. Cass mimicked his stance and they continued glaring at him for an entire minute before Sam saw what was happening and walked over, rolling his eyes.

"Dean, show him where the guest room is."

"He's not staying in the guest room," Dean mumbled, still staring at Garrett.

"What?" Sam asked incredulously.

"It's too close to Ellie's room," Cass growled, understanding Dean's thinking. "We'll find him a different room."

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath before shaking his head and throwing his hands up, walking away. Dean took two steps towards Garrett, his face coming dangerously close to the kid's. Garrett looked at the hunter, who was almost the same height as him, with a slightly terrified look on his face.

"Listen here, Garrett," Dean began, his voice hissing quietly, "You do anything, and I do mean anything to hurt my niece, I will cut your dick off and feed it to you. Do you understand?"

Garrett swallowed loudly and nodded quickly, his legs instinctively drawing closer together. "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes sir."


	14. Chapter 14

Ellie sat at her desk, flipping aimlessly through one of her school books when she heard a soft knock at the door. She turned and sighed when she saw her father in the doorway.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing, just checking in," Sam held up his hands defensively.

"Did everyone leave?" She asked, turning back to gaze at the page, although she wasn't really reading it.

"Yeah."

"Even Garrett?"

When Sam didn't reply right away, Ellie whipped her head to glare at him. "Dad, do not tell me you're letting him stay here."

"Ellie listen—"

"Oh my _god_," she moaned, throwing her head into her hands.

"He's here to help protect you," Sam spoke softly as he walked closer to her desk.

"Oh good," Ellie responded sarcastically, "So the guy I had a crush on is now my babysitter?"

Sam sighed, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow at her. "No. You guys could end up being good friends, you never—"

"No," Ellie stood up, pushing her way past Sam as she walked over to her closet, mindlessly looking through her clothes. "He's here to 'protect' me, not to be my friend."

"El, listen," Sam walked up behind her and grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around. "Just be nice, okay? It's not permanent."

"Whatever," she mumbled, crossing her arms.

Sam closed his eyes and shook his head, ruffling the top of her hair before he turned to leave. Ellie reached up and flattened her hair, grunting as she fell onto her bed. As Sam walked down the hall, he saw Dean leaning against his bedroom doorframe.

"Didn't tell her, did you?"

"Shut up," Sam muttered, shoving past his brother to enter his room.

"You don't want her to know that Garrett is single," Dean chuckled, "Because you don't want her to like him."

"I said shut up, Dean."

Dean held his hands up, shrugging, "Fine by me. I'd rather the kid suffer while he's here."

Sam shook his head as he chuckled, "We're not good people, you know? He hasn't done anything wrong."

"Sure he did, Sammy," Dean walked forward and slapped Sam's shoulder, "He liked the wrong girl's picture on Instagram."

"Do you ever think that maybe we're too protective?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, she's living with three guys, she's lucky we even let her talk to anyone."

The brothers turned as they heard someone clearing their throat in the doorway. Garrett was standing with his hands in his pockets with Cass directly behind him.

"Hey Gar," Dean smiled sarcastically, "What do you need, buddy?"

"Um, I was just wondering if you guys wanted me to do anything?" Garrett shrugged.

"The toilets could use cleaning."

"Dean," Sam groaned, turning to give his brother a disapproving look. They stared at each other for a moment, giving looks to have a silent discussion. Dean finally rolled his eyes and turned back to the door, sighing.

"You know how to cook?"

Garrett looked up from the floor, his eyebrows raised, "Uh, yeah, actually."

"Let's go then," Dean walked to the doorway and wrapped an arm around Garrett's shoulders, pulling him roughly down the hall. As they walked into the kitchen, Garrett made a choking noise when he realized Ellie was standing at the fridge. She turned around and rolled her eyes when she made eye contact with him.

"Squirt, get out of the fridge," Dean walked over to her, gently shoving her away, "We're making dinner."

"You're," she pointed between the two males, "Making dinner? Together?"

"No," Dean clapped his hands together, gesturing between Ellie, Garrett, and himself, "_We're_ making dinner together."

"Oh I don't think so," Ellie moved to walk around him, only for Dean to grab both of her shoulders and place her back in front of him. She groaned and looked up at him with a glare. "Uncle Dean."

"Only way for me to keep an eye on you is for me to _keep an eye _on you," he pointed with two fingers at his own eyeballs, then over to Ellie. "And if it means I can also watch this kid," he crooked a thumb behind him at Garrett, "Then that's a bonus."

Ellie sighed and narrowed her eyes at him before shrugging out of his hands and shaking her head. Dean smiled down at her and winked before opening the refrigerator and rummaging through the food.

When Sam entered the kitchen twenty minutes later, he saw Ellie standing at one end of the counter, preparing bell peppers to cut while Garrett stood at the other end, finishing up chopping some onions. Dean was at the stove, stirring something in two different pots.

"How's it going in here?" Sam asked, clearing his throat.

Dean turned around, smiling. "Oh hey, good timing. Come here and stir, I gotta take a piss."

Sam nodded and walked over as Dean rushed from the room. He stood at the stove, glancing back at Ellie for a brief moment. She was cutting the peppers slowly, and kept randomly hissing when the knife nicked her fingers. Sam was about to turn around and help her when he heard a noise from the other end of the counter.

"Um, you're…you're holding it wrong." Ellie's head whipped sideways, her brow furrowing when she realized Garrett was looking at her.

"Excuse me?" she raised an eyebrow.

Garrett sighed, wrinkling his lips as he struggled internally with whether to speak or not. "The knife. You need to…like this."

He held up the knife in his own hand, showing her where he had his thumb and forefinger placed on the blade. Ellie continued staring at him for a moment before she looked down at her hand and moved her fingers into the correct position. She went back to the peppers and tried it this new way, fighting back a smile when the knife slid through the food without fighting back.

"Thanks," she mumbled, sneaking a quick glance over to him. He was still looking at her, with a small smile on his face. Ellie went back to the peppers, forcing herself not to look over again although she could feel his eyes on her.

Sam managed to turn his head just enough and use his peripheral vision to see that Garrett was still watching Ellie, a soft smile on his face. The hunter went back to the stove smiling when Dean walked back into the kitchen. The elder Winchester narrowed his eyes as he watched Garrett staring at Ellie, walking over and swatting the back of the boy's head.

"Eyes on your own work there, Gar," he muttered, moving next to Sam at the stove.

As they ate dinner, Dean kept watching Garrett and glaring at him every time he caught him looking at Ellie. Sam would kick Dean under the table, giving him a disapproving look. Cass would tilt his head and glare at Garrett, earning a kick from Sam as well, Garrett would look down at his food before lifting his eyes to look at Ellie, and the cycle would begin again. Ellie eventually caught on when she looked up and caught her father giving Dean a look.

"Okay what is going on?" she dropped her fork onto her plate, looking between the three adults at the table.

"Nothing," Cass cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Ellie shot him a quick glare before turning to look at Dean, her eyebrows raised as she folded her arms on the table.

"Don't worry about it," Dean mumbled before shoving a large bite into his mouth.

Ellie pursed her lips before turning to face her father, who was sitting directly next to her. Sam continued chewing his food, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Ellie continued staring, her eyes narrowed.

"Dad."

"Yeah?" he turned his head just enough to make eye contact, licking his lips. "What's up?"

"Seriously?" she moaned, shaking her head. She slid off of her seat and grabbed her plate, walking over to the sink. As she was rinsing her dish, the three men at the table started silently arguing, all pointing to each other and making angry faces. Garrett sat still, his face confused as he watched the exchange. Just as Ellie turned around, they all stopped suddenly and looked at her innocently.

"Oh come on," Ellie said loudly, throwing her hands out to the side. "What is happening?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sam cleared his throat as he stood up and grabbed his plate. He walked past Ellie, leaning down to kiss the top of her head as she glared at him.

"I could just ask _him_, you know," she pointed to where Garrett's eyes were widening and his face reddening.

"No!"

Cass and Sam both shouted at the same time, while Dean just leaned back in his seat with a grin and linked his fingers behind his head. Ellie raised an eyebrow as she looked at her father, then turned back to lock eyes with Cass, who had moved to the edge of the kitchen. She took a deep breath and slowly began walking towards him.

"Uncle Cass," she said quietly, looking down at the floor as she neared him. The angel took a step back, only to have his back hit the wall. He jumped, his breathing coming much more quickly. When Ellie looked back up at him, her brows were turned down and her eyes large as she fluttered her eyelashes briefly. Her bottom lip pouted out before she continued her assault on her uncle.

"Please tell me what's going on?" she said quietly, coming to stand about a foot in front of him. He looked all around the room, trying not to catch her gaze. When she performed a fake sniffle, he couldn't help it and finally looked into her eyes. "Please?"

Cass closed his eyes, and Sam groaned from across the room when he recognized that the angel was toast. Dean chuckled from his seat, crossing his arms as he watched the interaction. Garrett continued to blush, putting his head into his hands.

"Okay, I think it's time for bed, kids," Sam clapped his hands together, effectively startling Cass out of the intense stare from Ellie.

"It's seven o'clock," Ellie spun around and crossed her arms.

"Then it's time for homework," he shrugged, smiling smugly as he walked over to her.

"I already did it."

"Doubt that," Dean scoffed.

"Shut up," she hissed, throwing him a glare.

"Watch it, squirt," Dean pointed a finger at her.

"Let's just go watch a movie," Sam grabbed her shoulders and turned her, pushing her towards the hallway. "Anything you want. Go get it started."

"But Dad—"

"No 'buts'," he tilted his head, hating how much of a lame dad it made him sound like. Sam turned and sighed, looking at the young man who was currently sitting with his head in his hands at the table. "Garrett, can you go with her?"

"What?"

Dean and Garrett both responded at the same time, their heads popping up. Dean shot Sam a glare, who sighed and gave him a bitch face.

"Um, sure," Garrett slowly stood up, trying to ignore the hateful look he received from Dean and Cass as he moved to the hallway.

"Dude," Dean hissed, jumping off his chair and rushing over to his brother. "What are you doing? Letting them be alone watching a movie together?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna go in there in a minute, I just wanted to tell you two to cool it."

"What?"

"What did I do?" Cass asked incredulously. Sam turned and tilted his head at him, raising an eyebrow. Cass crossed his arms and looked at the floor. "I thought I was subtle enough."

"If we keep treating the kid like crap, it's only going to make this whole thing worse for Ellie," Sam sighed. "She already doesn't like him very much."

"Yeah," Dean snorted, "Because you won't tell her that he doesn't have a girlfriend."

"She doesn't need to know that," Sam mumbled, looking at the ceiling. "Anyway, I'm going to make popcorn and then we are going to have a nice movie night."

"I leave in the morning," Dean shook his head, "I'm going to go clean my guns and get to bed early."

"Fine," Sam huffed, turning to Cass, "You coming?"

The angel narrowed his lips and shrugged, "I would actually rather do some reading in my bedroom."

"Cass," Sam moaned, dragging a hand down his face. "You can't leave me alone with them."

"Hey," Dean slapped his shoulder, "It was your idea. Suck it up, buttercup."

"Jerk," Sam muttered as Dean left the room.

"Bitch," Dean called out from the hallway.

Ellie was sitting on the couch, scrolling through the Netflix movie titles when she heard someone clearing their throat from the doorway. Garrett had his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his feet as he looked at her.

"Can I help you?" she asked bitterly, raising her eyebrows.

"Your dad told me to come in here," Garrett tightened his jaw.

"Well sit down then, I guess," she mumbled and gestured to the other side of the couch.

Garrett nodded slightly and walked over to the edge of the sofa, sighing before he plopped down and rested one arm over the back of the couch. Ellie shifted so her legs were pulled up onto the couch, tilting so she was leaning as far away from him as possible.

"You want to watch Inception?" Garrett asked, pointing to the screen where she had landed on a title.

"Yup," Ellie responded, keeping her eyes staring ahead of her.

"That movie's stupid."

"Just because you aren't smart enough to follow along doesn't mean it's stupid, Garrett."

He turned and looked at her, his jaw dropped. Ellie fought the urge to smile, biting on the inside of her cheeks.

"Brat," Garrett whispered.

"Ass," Ellie responded, looking at him out of the corner of her eye as he sunk lower into the couch and brought his ankle up to rest on his knee. She looked back to the TV and pressed play, wiggling a little to get more comfortable. Sam walked in with a bowl of popcorn and looked at the space between Ellie and Garrett, deciding to sit in one of the lounge chairs at the side of the room instead of being squished between them.

"Dad?" Ellie tilted her head and looked at him, her brow furrowed. Sam shrugged and reached over, handing her the bowl of popcorn. She took it slowly, still looking at him with a confused look.

Sam looked back to the TV screen, sighing. He watched secretly as Ellie silently offered Garrett the bowl of popcorn and he took a handful with a smile. He didn't like the idea of Ellie becoming friends with a boy, especially one who she had previously developed a crush on, but she did need some sort of friends her age and if this one just so happened to be of the male species, then so be it.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate it so much! : ) **


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning, Ellie woke up and stumbled down the hall to the bathroom, rubbing her eyes. When she brought her hands down she came around the corner and ran into a tall body. She made a startled noise and put her hands back up, prepared to fight off whoever it was.

Garrett grabbed her wrists, his eyes wide, "Whoa, it's me."

Ellie allowed her eyes to adjust to the light, then moaned and yanked her hands away from him. She shook her head and tried to step around him, only to have him purposely block her path.

"What are you doing?" she growled sleepily.

"Why do you hate me?" he crossed his arms and remained in front of her.

"What?" Ellie looked up at him, making eye contact.

"You seem to hate me," Garrett tilted his head, "And both of your uncles do too."

"I'm not talking about this," she turned to walk away, only for him to reach out and gently grab her upper arm. She whipped her head back to look at him, her eyes narrowed. His face was soft, almost concerned as his light blue eyes stared at her hazel ones.

"What's going on here?"

They both turned and looked down the hall, Garrett's hand falling from Ellie's arm as they realized it was Cass, standing with his arms crossed and an angry look on his face.

"Nothing," Ellie turned her head and glanced at Garrett. He nodded and sheepishly looked back at Dean.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Cass marched forward, his glare burning into Garrett.

"Uncle Cass, stop," Ellie shot her hand out to his chest, making his gaze snap down to her. "Can you make me your famous poached eggs for breakfast?"

Cass sighed, rolling his eyes before jabbing a finger at Garrett, "Fine. But you're coming with me."

Garrett nodded and followed the older man down the hall, sneaking a quick look back at Ellie. She stood with her arms wrapped around herself for a moment before she shook her head and again headed for the bathroom.

* * *

"Hey Dad?"

Sam looked over the top of his laptop at Ellie, who was walking towards the library table he sat at. He smiled at her and closed his computer, resting his arms on top of it.

"What's up, El?"

She took a deep breath before plopping down on a chair across the table from him, leaning back in it and resting her feet on the chair next to her.

"I think that since I have an entire nest of vampires after me, I shouldn't have to do my schoolwork for a while."

Sam snorted, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Ellie."

"What? I'm traumatized," she threw a hand on her forehead dramatically, allowing her head to fall back.

"Nice try," Sam stood up and walked around the table.

"It's not fair, Garrett is missing school to be here," she dropped her feet onto the floor and turned to glare up at her father.

"I'm actually homeschooled," Garrett spoke up from the doorway that he had suddenly materialized in.

Ellie glared at him, "So? You still have homework."

"I'm ahead in all of my classes," he shrugged, leaning against the door frame. "So no, I don't."

Ellie rolled her eyes and stood up from the chair, looking up at Sam, "I'm going to the gym."

"Not by yourself you're not," Sam grabbed the back of her hoodie, pulling her towards him.

"It's just as safe as anywhere else in here, Dad," she moaned, trying to pull his hand off of her hood.

"And right now, nowhere is completely safe," he pulled harder so her head was right next to him. "So pick someone to go with you."

"I'll go," Garrett piped up, and Ellie's head whipped around as she stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Perfect," Sam finally released her, making her fall to the ground. She scrambled back to her feet and glared at her father, then stuck her tongue out. "Remember, no weapons."

Ellie blushed as she shoved past Garrett and walked down the hall towards the gym. She had already changed before talking to her father, so she was in her workout clothes.

"Why did he say 'no weapons'?" Garrett asked as they walked down the hall together.

"Because I'm grounded," Ellie mumbled in reply.

"From using weapons?" Garrett scoffed, "That's a weird thing to be grounded from."

"From all hunting stuff," Ellie moaned, pushing open the door to the gym.

"Dang, what'd you do?"

"None of your business," she said quietly as she walked over and started wrapping her hands.

"Oh come on, you had to do something pretty bad," Garrett continued, walking around the room and inspecting the many pieces of equipment.

"I'm not telling you, so you can give up."

"Nope, I'm gonna figure it out."

"I'm serious, Garrett," she moaned, tucking the last piece of wrap on her hands. She stood up and removed her hoodie, a Lynrd Skynrd shirt on underneath. She walked over to the punching bag and began going to town when Garrett walked over and grabbed the other side of it, holding it steady for her.

"The fact that you're grounded from hunting and not anything else means that it probably has to do with a hunt," Garrett said loudly over the sound of her grunts and punches.

"Shut up," she hissed, continuing her assault on the bag.

"So it is," he chuckled, ducking when she tried to throw a punch near his head. "Hey, if you wanted to fight you just had to ask."

"I wouldn't want to hurt you," she smirked, holding her hands out before turning and kicking the bag with enough force to send Garrett backwards against the wall. When he looked at her, she smiled widely and put one hand out, beckoning him to come closer to her. She knew that while he easily had almost a foot of height on her, she had been training with her uncle since she was seven years old, and her strategy would be more than enough to knock him back a peg or two.

"Alright, but don't go crying to your daddy when you get your ass kicked," Garrett got up and shook his head, walking around the bag towards Ellie. She stood in a fighting stance, her hands up in loose fists and her weight on the balls of her feet.

"Come on," she teased as they walked in a circle.

Garrett stopped for a moment, holding his hands up, "I don't know if I can do this, you're like half my size."

"I sure am," she said before lunging forward and landing a quick punch to his ribs. Garrett winced briefly, before shaking his head.

"Ellie, this isn't right, if I—"

She took the opportunity and spun around, kicking his other side. He grunted and placed a hand on his ribs, his mouth tightened and his eyes closed. When he opened them, he saw Ellie smirking with her head tilted to the side.

"You know, you're right," she sighed dramatically, "I wouldn't want _you_ to get hurt so badly you have to go home crying to _your_ daddy."

Garrett groaned and straightened his body, turning his back swiftly and cracking a few bones. He then took a small step towards her, his hands up.

"Let's do this."

Ellie cocked an eyebrow before she lunged forward, extending her arm out to try and meet his chin. Garrett moved just enough for her to miss, and he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her, kicking the backs of her knees and making her fall to the ground. She grunted as her face came into contact with the mat, and she could hear Garrett snickering from behind her head. She took a deep breath and bent her elbow, slipping out of his grip and twisting her body so she could use her opposite arm to grab the back of his neck, slamming his head onto the ground. She quickly crawled over to sit on his legs, and began pretend punching at his face, not wanting to actually injure him. He held his arms up in a defensive stance, his face flinching.

"Alright alright, you win," he reached forward and pushed her off of him, shaking his head.

"Told you," she jumped back onto her feet, smiling sweetly as she gave a small bow.

"Whatever," he muttered, getting up and brushing the dirt off of his shirt. He reached up to touch his lip, wincing when he felt a small drop of blood from where Ellie had smashed his face onto the mat. She stopped laughing and took a small step towards him, biting her lip to hide her amusement.

"I got ya, didn't I?"

"It's fine," he pulled his lip into his mouth and sucked the blood off, shaking his head.

"I warned you," she shrugged, a smug little smile playing on her face.

"Shut up," he scoffed, reaching out and pushing her back. "Brat."

"Ass," she quipped, then chuckled.

"What?" Garrett asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," she shook her head, reaching up to tighten her ponytail, "That just reminds me of something my dad and Uncle Dean do."

Garrett tilted his head in confusion, "Call each other names?"

"Well yeah," she chuckled softly, nodding, "My dad calls Dean 'jerk' and then Dean calls him 'bitch' and that's kind of their thing."

"So what you're saying," Garrett pushed his shoulders back, stretching his arms above his head, "Is we have a weird thing now too?"

"Apparently," Ellie muttered as Garrett smiled down at her.

"I'm glad you don't hate me anymore."

"Who says I don't?"

"Come on, El," he reached out and poked her forehead, "You can admit it. We're friends."

"Yeah," she shrugged, turning to walk towards the door of the gym, "That'll happen after someone kicks your ass, I guess."

Just as Garrett opened his mouth to argue, the lights all turned off, only to be replaced with a red hue and a loud whining sound. Ellie froze in her steps, and turned to look at Garrett with wide and frightened eyes.

"What's happening?" He yelled above the alarm, hurrying towards her.

"That's the bunker alarm, someone or some_thing_ must have set it off," she replied, breathing heavily. She looked up at Garrett, "We need to go find my dad."

He reached out and grabbed her upper arm, stopping her from opening the door. "Wait, we need to be prepared. Where are the weapons?"

Ellie turned and pointed across the room and watched as Garrett walked over to the tall metal cabinet. He opened it and pulled out a machete, as well as a few smaller blades that he tucked into his waistband. He walked back over to her and took a deep breath as he stepped in front of her, his hand on the doorknob.

"I don't get a blade?" Ellie hissed.

Garrett cranked his head around and glared down at her, "You just need to stay by me."

"No, I'm the one they're after, I need a knife too," she growled before running over to the cabinet and pulling out another machete.

Garrett rolled his eyes as she moved to stand directly next to him, the machete heavy in her hands. As he slowly opened the door, he whispered, "Just stay behind me, _please_."

As they started walking down the hall, Garrett leading the way with Ellie walking backwards to cover their flank, the loud alarm stopped. The red lights were still flashing, but it became eerily quiet.

"Something's wrong," Ellie whispered, trying desperately to keep any hint of a whine out of her voice.

"Keep moving," Garrett mumbled as they continued down the hall.

"No, something's wrong, my dad should've come to check on me by now," Ellie stopped mid step, the arm that was holding her blade dropping as her other hand came up to her throat. Garrett heard her breathing erratically and turned his head, hurrying back to her.

"Hey hey," he grabbed her shoulder, "I'm sure everything is fine, you gotta calm down."

"I can't," she tried to suck in a large breath, "I can't calm down there's a vampire in my home and it probably already killed my dad and—"

Garrett looked around as she rambled and yanked her forward a few steps, sighing with relief when the random door they were in front of opened. He shoved her inside before joining her, pulling the door shut behind him. He turned to look at her and realized they were just in a supply closet.

"Listen, you have to breathe," he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't," she sniffed, holding her eyes shut tightly to try and stop her tears from falling. She did not want him to see her cry, damn it.

"Ellie, look at me," he said quietly. Ellie kept her eyes clamped shut, feeling a little dizzy from hyperventilating when she felt a hand on her cheek. She finally opened her eyes and saw Garrett looking down at her with a hardened look. "Slow down your breathing."

"I...I can't," she choked out.

"Yes you can," Garrett dropped his hand, looking straight into her eyes, "Match my breathing, okay? Inhale, exhale."

She hated how vulnerable she felt, but found that by watching his chest rise and fall, she was finally able to calm down. Her eyes fluttered closed as she focused on keeping her breathes slow and even.

"Ellie!"

Her eyes flew open at the sound of her dad's voice yelling in the hallway, and she tried to move around Garrett to open the door.

"Just wait a second," he muttered, holding up his blade before he slowly opened the door and peeked outside. The red lights were off, and the normal electricity was back on in the bunker. When Garrett looked down the opposite hallway, he saw Sam smiling at them. Ellie poked her head out of the door, her eyes brightening when she made eye contact with her father. She was confused as to why he wasn't more excited to see her as she ran to him and threw her arms around his waist.

"What happened?" she asked, stuffing her face into his chest.

"It was a test," Sam held her tightly to him, knowing she was going to freak out as soon as she realized what he did.

"What?" she shrieked, trying to push against his chest. Sam squeezed her tighter, trying not to laugh.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew what to do," Sam said quietly, grabbing Ellie's cheeks and pulling her face back so he could look at her.

"Of course I know what to do," she reached up and shoved his hands away, backing up a few feet. "I've known what to do since I was seven years old, Dad."

"I know that," Sam sighed, tightening his jaw, "But now all those times we practiced simulations are reality."

"I can't believe you," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself. She turned and looked at Garrett, her face scrunched up in anger, "Did you know he was going to do this?"

Garrett's face began to blush, and he looked down at his feet, "I, um…"

"Oh my _god_," she moaned, shaking her head, "You both suck."

"Ellie, don't blame Garrett, it was my—"

"Oh, I'm not blaming Garrett," she interrupted, turning to glare at him with a hardened expression. Sam opened his mouth to reply, then huffed a breath out of his nose and put his hands on his hips. Ellie continued to stare at him for a moment before rolling her eyes and walking down the hall, pushing Sam out of the way in the process.

"She's…something else," Garrett whispered as he moved to stand next to Sam in the hallway as they watched her walk away.

"Yeah," Sam sighed, shaking his head, "Yeah she is."


	16. Chapter 16

Ellie sat slouched on her bed, mindlessly scrolling through instagram when she heard a knock on her door.

"Go away, Dad."

"It's me."

Ellie rolled her eyes, and sighed loudly. "Come in."

The door swung open to reveal a man in a trench coat with an apologetic smile on his face. Cass walked in and closed the door behind him, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"What do you want?" she muttered, looking back to her phone.

"I know you're mad at your father, Sunny," Cass tried to use the nickname to make her smile, and judging by the way her mouth wrinkled up in an attempt to hide one it had worked.

"Why doesn't he think I can handle myself?" she set her phone to the side and pulled her legs up to rest her elbows on her knees.

"Because you're twelve years old," Cass stated plainly.

"I'll be thirteen in seven days," she mumbled.

"That's still very young," Cass continued, tilting his head at her. "He just wants to keep you safe, you know that."

"Yeah, that's all he cares about," she scoffed, looking to the side of her legs at her comforter and picking at a stray thread, "Just wants me alive, doesn't matter how."

"Is that really how you feel?" Cass asked quietly, scooting up closer to the head of the bed.

Ellie shrugged, biting her lips, "I don't know. Sometimes. He just doesn't seem to care about what I want. I feel like…I feel like I'm going to be stuck in this bunker for the rest of my life."

"I would sneak you outside if that happened."

Ellie looked up with a small smile at Cass, who was grinning at her. She reached out and playfully pushed his arm, shaking her head.

"How old do you think I'm going to be when Dad lets me go out on my own?"

"Forty."

"Uncle Cass," she moaned with a smile, kicking with her leg and successfully shoving him off the bed with her foot. He landed on his feet, and spun around to glare at her with a playful glint in his eyes.

"Let's just get through this whole vampire ordeal, okay?" he sighed. Ellie nodded, and let out a long breath before sliding off of her bed and following Cass as he left her bedroom. As they entered the library, Sam was ending a phone call while Garrett sat at a table with his arms crossed.

"Was that Uncle Dean?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah," Sam shot her a quick smile.

"Any news?" Cass asked.

Sam sighed, looking at Ellie out of the corner of his eye before bringing his eyes back to the angel. "They've found several vamps, but no one has been able to get a location on Luca."

Ellie let out a long breath, biting her lip as she glanced over at Garrett. He was looking at her with a concerned look, and she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, we knew this would take a while," Sam stepped forward and rubbed her upper back.

"I know," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself, "Can I go watch a movie?"

Sam nodded, pulling her into a quick hug. He squeezed her tightly and kissed the top of her head, making her roll her eyes and push away from him. As she walked towards the hallway, she stopped and turned her head, looking at Garrett.

"You coming?"

Garrett's mouth fell open in surprise and he looked over to Sam, who shrugged inconspicuously. The young man nodded quickly and stood up, walking across the library. As he moved past Cass, he heard the angel whisper.

"Touch her you're dead."

——

Ellie was sitting on the couch when Garrett walked into the TV room, her legs crossed underneath her as she pointed the streaming remote at the television. He noticed that she wasn't smashed into the corner of the sofa this time, and bit his lips to hide his smile.

"What are we watching this time, Winchester?"

"Really?" she turned and cocked an eyebrow, "You're calling me by my last name now?"

"Feels right," he plopped down on the other side of the couch, propping his feet up on the table in front of it.

"Whatever," she shook her head and chuckled softly before looking back to the TV. "Have you ever watched The Office?"

"I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious," Garrett grinned, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Her mouth dropped and she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh man, you're like a super fan aren't you?"

"Maybe," Garrett shifted in his seat, shrugging.

"Who's your favorite character?" Ellie abandoned the remote and turned sideways on the couch, resting her hands in her lap.

"Oh Dwight, easily."

"Ooh, I'm a Michael girl," she tilted her head with a smile.

"Seriously?" Garrett threw his hand out, "Dwight is the funniest character ever created."

"Um no," Ellie held up a finger, "Michael Scott is comedic genius, and you can never get me to say otherwise."

Garrett wiggled his lips, narrowing his eyes at her before looking to the space behind her. He stood up off of the couch and moved to walk past her, "How about this?"

Ellie turned her body to watch as he walked over to the pool table on the far side of the room, a challenging look in his eyes as he glanced back at her.

"Let's play a game, and if you lose, you have to admit that Dwight is the best character."

"Really?" She scoffed, jumping off the couch. "That's what you want to play for?"

"It's okay if you're too chicken," Garrett smirked, grabbing a cue stick from where they leaned against the wall. "I wouldn't want to play me either, I'm pretty good."

Ellie pursed her lips in thought, then took a deep breath and shook her head. "I don't know, I've never really played."

"Really?"

"No, my dad didn't want me to end up hustling like he did," Ellie shrugged, walking over to the table. "But let's play, since we're not really playing for money or anything."

"Okay, prepare to lose," Garrett smirked as he rubbed the chalk on the end of the stick.

It was only about fifteen minutes later that the game was done. Ellie had managed to get two balls in by the time Garrett sunk the eight ball. He had offered to help her multiple times, only to have her insist she could figure it out herself, although the amount of times she scratched suggested otherwise.

"Let me hear it," Garrett held a hand up to his ear, grinning. "Dwight is the best."

"Shut up," Ellie grumbled, crossing her arms with an angry expression on her face. "Let's go again."

"What? Why?" Garrett laughed, holding his hands out, "No offense, Winchester, but you suck."

"I have it in my blood to be good at pool," she muttered, "I have to figure it out eventually."

"Alright," Garrett shook his head with a chuckle, "Losers break."

"Should we make it more interesting?" Ellie tilted her head as she moved to the end of the table.

"Seriously? I'm not taking your money."

"Hey, I'm ready and willing," she pulled a twenty out of her back pocket and slapped it onto the table. Ever since she was young, Dean had taught her to always have cash on her, no matter the situation.

"Oh come on," Garrett rolled his eyes with a chuckle, "I'm not taking what I'm assuming is your allowance from you."

"Why not?" Ellie pursed her lips, her brow furrowed, "You chicken?"

"Ellie—"

"Please?" She pulled out the puppy dog eyes, her bottom lip pouting out as she fake sniffled.

Garrett let out a slow breath, his jaw tightening as he pulled his wallet out from his pocket. He fished out two ten dollar bills and laid them on top of her twenty. Ellie lifted her chin and looked in his wallet, a smirk on her face.

"I see you have another ten in there, you wanna make it thirty?"

"Deal," he yanked it out and slapped it on the piles of bills, watching as Ellie pulled a ten from her own pocket and daintily laid it on top. He racked the balls, looking down the table at Ellie as she stood with the cue resting on her forehead. "Break."

Ellie sighed with a dramatic sad face before she suddenly leaned over the table and looked up at him through her long lashes, giving him a wink before she expertly performed a break shot. Garrett watched as she walked around the table, sinking all of her balls without really having to think about each shot. He groaned every time one fell into the pocket, shaking his head. When it finally came down to the eight ball, Garrett had not been able to play even once. She looked up and him with a smirk.

"Corner pocket," she whispered before knocking the black ball into the correct hole, and standing up with her arms shrugged.

"Thought your dad didn't want you hustling," Garrett watched as she grabbed the pile of cash and counted it.

"He doesn't," she murmured with a smile, "But my Uncle Dean does."

Garrett shook his head, chuckling, "I can't believe I fell for that."

"Don't feel bad, my puppy dog eyes work on everyone," she raised her eyebrows once, smiling at him as she began to fan herself dramatically with the bills.

"Well it's not fair, you have freakishly long eyelashes," Garrett mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Where'd you get that?"

Ellie spun around, the cash still fanned in her hand as she made eye contact with her father, who had just entered the room. She quickly shoved her hands behind her back, her eyes widening.

"What? Nothing. Nowhere."

"Ellie," Sam warned, slowly walking towards her. She tried to back up, but her butt hit the pool table. Sam got close to her, his arms crossed as he looked down at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied poorly, shaking her head.

Sam sighed with a slight growl and raised his eyebrows at her, "Give it to me."

"Give what to you?" She challenged, tilting her head in fake confusion.

"Ellie."

"Dad."

Just as Ellie moved her hands to try and slip the money into her pocket, Sam grabbed her elbows and jerked her arms forward, causing the bills to fly into the air before slowly falling to the ground. Sam and Ellie's eyes both watched as the cash landed on the floor, then slowly looked up to make eye contact. Ellie gave him an exaggerated sweet smile, her eyebrows raised.

"Let me guess," Sam leaned forward, his hands moving to his hips, "Ya hustled him."

"Me?" she asked sarcastically, "I would never."

Sam tilted his head and glared at her, "Eleanor."

Garrett scoffed from the side, "Eleanor? That's your real name? What are you, ninety—"

Sam shot him a quick glare, effectively cutting Garrett off. The young man cleared his throat and pointed to the hallway, shrugging.

"I'm just gonna...I'm gonna go."

Sam waited until Garrett scampered out of the room before he sighed and looked back at Ellie, his lips pursed.

"You know you have to give him his money back, right?"

"What?" She shouted, her mouth dropped open, "I won it, fair and square."

"There's nothing about hustling that's fair, Ellie," Sam bent down and picked up the cash, shaking his head. He stood up and handed it to her, his eyes narrowed, "How much did you take from him?"

"Thirty bucks," Ellie sighed, pulling three tens from the wad of cash and shoving it into Sam's hands.

As Sam turned to leave, his face suddenly scrunched up in confusion and he whipped his head back to look at her.

"Wait, where did you even get thirty dollars?"

"I won it playing pool with Uncle Dean."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, especially sjwmaw and Ponygirlrunner25! Your comments keep me writing!**

* * *

By late the next night, many of the hunters had reported back multiple vampire kills, but none of them were talking about the location of their leader. Dean was on his way back to the bunker so Sam could go out hunting for a bit, much to Ellie's disagreement.

"Why can't you all just stay here?" Ellie crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall, watching her father pack his bags. "There's enough hunters out there."

"Ellie," Sam sighed, looking up to the ceiling. Ever since he had told her that he was leaving as soon as Dean got home, she had been arguing with him. "This whole thing is because of me."

"No, it's because of me," Ellie snapped, her brow furrowed in anger. Sam turned his head and looked at her with an eyebrow cocked. "You didn't even want kids, and now..."

"Whoa," Sam held a palm out as he walked over to her. Ellie was looking at the floor now, biting her lips and willing the tears in her eyes to go away. "Where the hell is this coming from?"

"Claire said that you never wanted kids," she murmured, dragging a toe along the floor, "And now you're stuck with me and because of it you have to go hunt an entire nest of vampires and—"

"Ellie, stop," he shook his head abruptly and grabbed the sides of her head, forcing her to look at him. When he realized there was a lone tear falling down her cheek, his used his thumb to wipe it away. "I am not 'stuck' with you."

"Yes you are," she whimpered, closing her eyes tightly, "You didn't want kids—"

"Do you know _why_ I didn't want kids?" Sam interrupted, dropping his hands from her head and moving them to her shoulders.

"No," she sniffed, biting the insides of her cheeks.

"Because the world is so messed up," Sam spoke quietly, "And not just because of the monsters, El. But then you came along and now I cannot imagine my life without you. I am not stuck with you, you're stuck with me."

Ellie rolled her eyes at that, reaching up to wipe her tears away with her wrist before mumbling, "Not if you get yourself killed."

Sam sighed and shook his head, "I'm going to be fine. I've gone on hunts for way worse monsters before."

"Just," she paused, looking around the room before finally landing her gaze back on his eyes that matched hers, "Please be careful."

Sam smiled before pulling her towards him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She rubbed her nose into his chest, taking a big breath. She would never admit it to anyone, but her dad's scent was her favorite. She squeezed his waist tightly, her eyes clamped shut as she told herself she would not cry again.

"I love you Dad," she whispered, pulling her head back to look up at him but keeping the grip on his waist.

Sam leaned down and kissed her nose before placing a gentle hand on the back of her head and pulling her back to him.

"I love you more, baby."

"Love you most," she muttered, taking one last breath before she took a step back. He reached out and ruffled the top of her hair, making her roll her eyes and swat his hand away before she smoothed her hair down.

"'Sup Squirt?"

Ellie spun around and smiled when she made eye contact with her uncle, rushing over to give him a hug. Dean bent over and slid his hands under her arms, squeezing her and lifting her off the ground.

"Stop," Ellie squealed, trying to push against his chest to get away.

"What, you didn't miss your favorite uncle?" Dean chuckled, giving her ribs a quick tickle before letting her back down.

"Who says you're my favorite?" She cocked an eyebrow with a smile. Dean narrowed his eyes and placed a hand over her face, pushing her head backwards.

"Shut up," he mumbled, turning to look at Sam, "You heading out?"

"Yeah," Sam went to his bed and grabbed his duffel bag, slinging it over his shoulder as he joined them in the hallway. "Keys?"

Dean groaned for a moment before digging into his pocket and pulling out the keys to the impala.

"Take care of her."

"You too," Sam gestured with his head towards Ellie, who scoffed. He walked to her and placed a hand around the back of her neck, pulling her head towards him and giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head. "Behave yourself."

"Don't I always?" She looked up at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Sam rolled his eyes and gave her one last kiss on her hair before he walked down the hall to the garage.

"Where's Garrett?" Dean mumbled as he and Ellie walked down the hallway the opposite direction.

Ellie shrugged, "I don't know. Did Dad tell you I beat Garrett in pool?"

"No," Dean snorted, "Your dad told me you _hustled_ the kid in pool."

Ellie waved him off, "Technicality."

Dean extended his fist, looking down at her out of the corner of his eye, "Good job, Squirt."

Ellie grinned and bumped his fist with her own as they walked into the kitchen. Cass was sitting at the table on his cell phone while Garrett was at the stove stirring something that smelled amazing. Ellie rushed over to Garrett, smelling the air.

"What are you making?"

"Get out of here, you'll see when I'm done," he playfully pushed her to the side.

"Ass," she stuck her tongue out and walked over to sit next to Cass.

"Brat," Garrett replied with a smirk.

Dean watched the interaction from near the doorway, his brow furrowed. Sam had informed him of Ellie and Garrett's budding friendship, but he still didn't like seeing it.

"What movie are we watching tonight, Uncle Cass?" Ellie asked, leaning on her elbows on the table, "It's your turn to pick."

"I'm not sure yet," Cass sighed, "I'm looking at an article titled '40 Best Movies To Watch With Children'."

"We're not children," Ellie moaned, rolling her eyes.

"You are," Garrett muttered from the stove.

"For another five days, shut up," she grumbled.

"Just because you'll be thirteen doesn't mean you're not a child," Dean scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"I'll be a teenager," Ellie grinned, "That means I won't be a kid."

"Mhmm," Dean shook his head, then looked over at Garrett as he spoke, "Ellie, why don't you and Cass go get the TV room set up?"

Ellie narrowed her eyes at him, trying to read his facial expression. She finally gave up and slid off of the chair and followed Cass to the hallway. She paused in the doorway, turning back to look at Garrett.

"I'm just finishing this up and I'll be there," he replied with a quick smile, his eyes flickering over to Dean briefly.

"Okay," Ellie gave Dean one last glare before leaving the room.

Dean waited until Cass and Ellie were out of earshot to speak, "Do I need to worry about you, Gar?"

Garrett continued looking down at his work, swallowing loudly. He shook his head and cleared his throat, "No sir."

"You sure?" Dean walked slowly to the stove, his voice low and gravely, "Because I can certainly remember being a fourteen year old boy. I know the types of...urges you have."

"I don't think of her like that," Garrett muttered, biting the inside of his cheeks, "She's just a friend."

Dean moved so he was standing directly behind him, and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Better make sure it stays that way, boy."

"Yes sir," Garrett whispered, swallowing quietly. Dean stayed in that position for a moment, breathing heavily to intimidate the kid further before he finally backed away. He peeked over Garrett's shoulder at the small pot, his eyebrow raised.

"Seriously though, what are you making?"

"Um, chocolate covered fried Oreos," Garrett muttered, removing a lid from a plate next to the stove to reveal a mound of deep fried Oreos perfectly cooked to a light golden brown. The pot he was continuously stirring had melted chocolate in it that was almost ready for the dipping process.

"Oh, cool," Dean nodded, then turned to leave the room so Garrett didn't notice his mouth watering.

When Garrett entered the TV room with the plate of deliciousness, Ellie squealed and jumped up to try the first one. Dean was sitting in one of the lounge chairs and accepted one when Garrett offered, turning his head to hide the orgasmic face that was happening after biting into one of the treats. Cass was sitting in the other lounge chair, currently trying to figure out what movie they were going to watch. Dean finished his Oreo and turned back, fighting back a growl when he saw Garrett sitting next to Ellie on the couch. The hunter quickly got up and squished between them, wiggling his butt to make sure they were as far apart as possible.

"What are you doing?" Ellie moaned from where she was hugging the armrest inadvertently.

"Nothing, just want to sit next to my favorite niece," Dean smiled down at her, slinging an arm around her shoulder.

"You're being weird," she mumbled before shaking her head and looking towards the TV where Cass had finally settled on the live action Beauty and the Beast.

"Seriously Cass?" Dean moaned, dropping his head back onto the couch.

"I enjoy musical theatre, you know this Dean," Cass shrugged as he adjusted his positioning in his seat, "And it's appropriate for this audience."

"Whatever," Dean mumbled, sighing as he brought his head back up.

About fifteen minutes into the movie, movement to Dean's left caught his eye. He looked without moving his head and tightened his jaw when he realized Ellie was on his phone. He was about to yell at her to put it down and enjoy the movie when he realized _what_ exactly she was doing on it.

The damn kid was texting Garrett.

When the hell had they exchanged numbers? Dean cleared his throat and turned his neck to pretend to stretch, holding back a growl when he saw that Garrett had his phone on next to his thigh, a smile on his face as he typed. Dean abruptly snapped his head back to stare at the TV, although he was not really paying attention. He snuck a look down at Ellie's phone and saw the last few text exchanges between the two of them.

**_E: I know, I'm sorry. He's weird. *shrugging emoji*_**

**_G: He's just protective of you, I get it. _**

**_E: Whatever. You want to play pool when the movie's done?_**

**_G: Sure, this time I won't go easy on you. _**

**_E: Shut up! *tongue sticking out emoji* _**

Dean couldn't take it anymore, and reached out and grabbed Ellie's phone, locking it before he threw it onto the lounge chair.

"Hey," she yelled, looking at him with an annoyed expression.

"No phones during movie night," Dean growled, keeping his eyes trained on the television. Ellie sighed exasperatingly and crossed her arms, throwing Garrett a quick apologetic shrug before turning to watch the movie.

By the time the movie was done, Ellie had fallen asleep leaning on Dean's shoulder, and Garrett was yawning as his head bobbed with sleep. Dean nudged his shoulder, and Ellie just moaned and rubbed her head on his arm.

"Get up, Squirt," he murmured, reaching out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "Go to bed."

"No," she whined, squeezing her eyes closed tighter, "Carry me to bed."

"Ha!" Dean snorted, shaking his head, "Maybe five years ago."

Ellie refused to move, so Dean just leaned forward and stood off of the couch. His plan backfired, however, when Ellie fell over and landed instead on Garrett's lap, her ear pressed against his thigh. The young man's eyes went wide as he looked up at Dean, holding his hands up above his head. The hunter's brow furrowed as he glared at him, about to pounce forward when Ellie sighed and pushed herself back up to a sitting position.

"You're mean," she mumbled at Dean as she stood up and stretched, walking over and grabbing her phone off of the chair.

"Just go to bed," Dean muttered, shoving her towards the doorway.

"Fine," she stuck her tongue out and stumbled to the hallway, a yawn approaching.

Just as Dean opened his mouth to talk to Cass, the three males heard a chirping noise. When Dean and Cass slowly turned to look towards the sound and realized it was coming from Garrett's phone, the young man gave them a quick but scared smile after he read the text he had just received.

"Was that a text?" Dean narrowed his eyes down at the boy.

"What? No."

"Oh, really?" Dean nodded slowly, walking towards the couch, "Then let me see your phone."

"I'd really rather not."

"Don't make me take it from you," Dean said quietly, holding his hand out in front of him. Garrett sighed before he begrudgingly handed over his phone. Dean smirked before he turned the device over, clicking on a text that he had just received from someone saved in his phone as 'Winchester'.

**_E: Don't pay attention to Dean. He's just being a dick._**

Dean's jaw dropped dramatically, his eyes looking up to meet Garrett's. The young man merely shrugged and gave him a pained smile.

"Oh she's in for it now," Dean growled, shoving the phone into Garrett's chest and storming out of the room.

Ellie was sitting on her bed, about to change into her pajamas when her phone alarmed with a text message. She swiped her phone open and smiled when she saw it was Garrett.

**_G: RUN! Dean saw your text!_**

Her eyes got huge and just as she ran into the hallway, she ran into a strong chest. She didn't have to look up to know who it was, and she instead just grunted and tried to turn around and run away. Dean instead grabbed her upper arms and picked her up in the air, turning and dropping her back into her bedroom, making her lose her step and falling onto her butt.

"So," he began, crossing his arms, "I'm being a dick?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ellie scrambled to her feet and dusted off her bottom, looking him in the eye with a straight face.

"Don't play with me," Dean groaned, "Your mouth has been quite the problem lately."

"Like you should talk," she scoffed, instantly regretting her words when Dean narrowed his eyes at her.

"I am an _adult_," Dean spoke quietly, pointing a finger at her.

"Maybe legally," she snorted, raising an eyebrow.

Dean choked on air for a moment, his face scrunched up in confusion as he looked down at her. She had always been his little niece, who loved him and would never say a bad word about him. She would come to him for advice when she didn't want to talk to her dad. Now, however, she was turning into a completely different person and he did not like it.

Oh right, she was turning into a teenager.

"Listen up," Dean crossed his arms again in an attempt to look more like the authority figure in the room, "You better stop cussing. I might not be your dad, but I can still take away your phone."

"You wouldn't," she narrowed her eyes, mimicking her stance.

Dean inhaled slowly and stepped closer to her so their toes were touching. He leaned down close to her face, his jaw tightened.

"Try me."

They stayed like that for a while, staring each other down before Ellie finally gave in and sighed.

"Fine," she mumbled, "I'll stop cursing."

"Good girl," Dean smirked, backing away and moving to leave her bedroom.

"Except..." Ellie trailed off, biting her lips.

Dean stopped in the doorway, turning his head to look back at her, "Except what?"

"Nothing," she smiled, waving a hand, "Never mind."

Dean stared at her for a brief moment before leaving her room, "Night Squirt."

"Good night," she responded, craning her neck to make sure he was gone before she pulled out her phone and opened her messages.

**_E: Way to go, got me in trouble for using bad words. _**

**_G: He took my phone, what was I supposed to do?_**

**_E: Idk, but not show him a text with me calling him a dick!_**

**_G: Is he mad?_**

**_E: He just told me I can't curse anymore. _**

**_G: Aw, poor baby can't call me an ass from now on. _**

**_E: Oh, I'm still calling you an ass. Just not in front of my Uncle. _**


	18. Chapter 18

Dean woke up the next morning and groaned as he sat up, bending to try and stretch his muscles. The hunt he had been on was really taking its toll on his aging body. He yawned, tilting his head side to side as he stood up. He padded down the hallway and decided to see if Ellie was awake yet. He walked by her open door and smiled when he saw her curled up in a ball, her blankets tucked under her chin. He slowly walked to her bed, looking down at her. He loved when she was asleep, ever since she was little. It was the only time she was silent, and she looked so peaceful. Dean looked at his watch, and frowned when he realized she had been sleeping for almost eleven hours. Just as he turned to leave, she began to moan and wiggle against her sheets.

"Mornin' squirt," he mumbled, giving her a half smile when she forced an eye open to look up at him. "You've been sleeping for a long time, you feel okay?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, rolling onto her back and rubbing her eyes, "Just been a long week I guess. Have you heard from Dad?"

Dean shook his head, pulling out his phone to make sure he hadn't missed any texts or calls. His phone was empty, and he sighed as he put it back into the pocket of his pajama pants. Ellie closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

"I'm trying not to be worried about him," she whispered, squeezing her eyes closed tighter.

"Now you know how he feels," Dean chuckled and pushed her shoulder, "Come on, let's go get breakfast."

"Fine," she sighed, throwing her covers off of herself before slowly sitting up. Dean walked into the hallway, letting her get herself up and around for the day. He walked into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow when he saw Garrett at the coffee maker.

"You drink coffee?"

Garrett spun around, surprised by the hunter's presence, "Um, no. I was...I was making a pot for you."

Dean tried to hide his surprise, but his jaw still fell open just a little. Garrett smiled briefly and shrugged, then turned back to the press.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Dean mumbled, walking over to the table and sitting down. Ellie walked in, and Dean shook his head when he realized she was wearing one of Sam's plaid button ups over a tank top. She slid onto the chair opposite him and gave him a look when she realized he was staring at her.

"What?"

"Isn't that the shirt your dad was wearing before he left?"

"Yeah, so?" she pulled it tighter to her body.

"Never mind," he shook his head. Garrett walked over and placed a cup of coffee in front of the hunter, a small smile on his face. "Thanks kid."

"Welcome," he shrugged, walking over to the fridge and opening it. He peeked his head around the door and yelled to Ellie, "I'm making eggs, you want some?"

"Sure," she turned and shot him a smile.

Dean raised an eyebrow, "You our new chef or something?"

Garrett shrugged as he pulled the carton of eggs from the fridge, "I like cooking."

"Works for me," Dean scoffed, "Hey listen, I'm working with Cass at the shooting range this afternoon, so you need to figure out something to occupy yourself for a couple hours."

"You do realize that means Garrett will have to be with me, right?" Ellie cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, but Gar and I have an understanding, don't we?" Dean shouted.

"Yes sir," Garrett responded quietly from the stove.

"See?" Dean threw his hands out, "I have nothing to worry about."

* * *

A few hours later Ellie and Garrett were sitting in what they were now referring to as the den rather than the 'tv room'. They had already played a few rounds of no betting pool, and were currently sitting on the couch trying to decide on a movie.

"Not a chick flick," Garrett groaned as Ellie landed on '50 First Dates'.

"It's not a chick flick," Ellie countered, "Adam Sandler is in it."

"So?" Garrett scoffed, "Most of his movies are, in fact, chick flicks."

"Whatever, it's funny," Ellie pulled her legs up onto the couch, this time away from Garrett rather than towards him. It caused her to be leaning just a little bit onto his side of the couch. Garrett bit his lip as he glanced over at her, then closed his eyes and remembered what Dean had told him. He leaned back and put both arms over the back of the couch, letting out a slow breath as the movie began.

"Dean, I don't understand why you're upset."

"Because, Cass. Using your mojo to make your bullets hit the target is cheating."

"But I am an angel!"

"The whole point of you practicing with a gun is in case you ever lose your grace again, idiot," Dean shoved Cass as they walked down the hall.

"Well I'm not counting on that happening again," Cass shrugged. They were walking by the open door to the den as Cass froze mid step, causing Dean to double back.

"What?" He followed the angel's gaze and instantly his face hardened.

Garrett was laying diagonally along almost the entire length of the couch, his feet propped on the coffee table and his head resting on the arm rest. None of that bothered the men, though. What infuriated them was the fact that Ellie was laying next to him, with her head on his chest and her hand on his stomach, her mouth dropped open slightly.

"Goddamn it," Dean cursed, shoving past Cass to enter the room. They both walked up in front of the couch, crossing their arms. Dean glared at the sleeping forms for a moment before he loudly and sarcastically cleared his throat.

Ellie was the first to wake, her head jerking and her mouth clamping shut. She lifted her head briefly before turning to look at where the noise came from. When she saw Dean and Cass looking down at her with angry expressions, she was confused until Garrett groaned. Her eyes got big as her gaze shot over to where she was still resting on his chest, then she hurriedly sat up as straight as she could. Garrett's eyes slowly opened and he looked over to her with a smile before he realized the two men were in the room, and his smile quickly disappeared.

"Okay listen," he began, dropping his feet to the floor and sitting up next to Ellie.

"We just fell asleep watching a movie," Ellie added, standing up and holding out her hands, "See, look at the TV."

Both men continued glaring between Ellie and Garrett, obviously not caring about the situation that put them in the position they were in.

"Nothing happened, I swear," Garrett stood up, rubbing his hands on his thighs to try and remove some of the sweat that was accumulating there.

"You're goddamn right nothing happened," Dean snorted, "Because if something _had_ happened, you wouldn't be standing here to tell me about it."

Ellie rolled her eyes, tilting her head to glare at her uncle, "Stop it, we just fell asleep."

"Mhmm," Cass murmured from where he was still narrowing his eyes at Garrett.

Ellie closed her eyes and shook her head, chuckling before she walked around them to the hallway, "Hey Uncle Dean, have you heard anything from my dad? I texted him earlier but he hasn't responded yet."

As if on cue, as they all walked into the kitchen, Dean's phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled, turning the device to show Ellie that it was Sam calling. She perked up immediately and tried to grab it out of his hand, only to have him pull it back and hold up a finger.

"Hey Sammy," he answered the call, his face hardening almost instantly when he realized the voice on the other end of the phone was not his brother.

"Dean, it's me," Jody's voice was shaking, and Dean could hear a lot of commotion in the background.

"Joey?" he said quietly, his eyes snapping over to where Ellie's face had fallen and her eyes were huge with worry. "What's going on? Why do you have Sam's phone?"

"Listen Dean, we're about five minutes from the bunker," Jody began, "I need you to keep Ellie in her room."

"What?" he continued staring at Ellie, who had now wrapped her arms around herself and was breathing heavily.

"Dean, he...Sam got bit."

In that moment, Dean ran to the hallway, stopping next to Cass and grabbing the angel's shoulder roughly.

"Do not let her follow me," he whispered. Cass nodded and turned to face Ellie, who was already rushing across the room. He grabbed her shoulders and ignored her pleas, looking up to the ceiling as he struggled to contain her.

Dean walked as fast as he could down the hallway, trying to give himself enough space so Ellie wouldn't hear the conversation.

"What do you mean he got bit?" Dean hissed.

"We finally got a location on Luca," Jody began, "Sam was closest, I told him not to go in there alone, but..."

"Okay," Dean sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, "Just get him here. And please tell me you got some blood from the vamp that turned him."

"Of course I did," Jody hissed, "We'll be there in five. Actually, Claire's driving, so we'll be there in two."

Dean pulled the phone from his ear and ended the call roughly, running a hand through his hair. He drew a shaky breath and then let it out slowly, mentally preparing himself for going back to the kitchen. As he got closer he could hear Ellie yelling at Cass.

"Let me go, something's wrong!"

"Ellie just calm down!"

"No, I have to go—"

She stopped when she saw Dean coming in through the doorway, a solemn look on his face. She stop fighting Cass and dropped her arms, taking a sharp breath.

"Is he dead?"

"No," Dean responded, holding a hand up, "Listen, they're almost here, but you need to go to your room and—"

"No, tell me what's going on," she crossed her arms and glared up at her uncle as he stepped closer to her.

"Ellie, I'm—"

"No! Tell me—"

"Cass," Dean turned to look at the angel, and cocked his head to the side. Cass nodded and bent over, scooping Ellie up over her shoulder and walking out of the kitchen. Dean closed his eyes as he listened to her yell the entire way to her room.

"What's going on?" Garrett asked, his hands in his pockets.

"Listen, kid," Dean shook his head, "Shit's about to get real hairy. It'd probably be best if you waited with Ellie."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Yes," Dean turned and placed a hand on Garrett's shoulder, looking him in the eye, "Go take over for Cass, I'm gonna need him. Then, do not, I repeat _do not_ let Ellie out of her bedroom."

"Yes sir," Garrett nodded before turning and running out of the room. Dean rushed out of the other door, heading for the war room when he heard the bunker door slam open.

"Dean," a frantic voice rang out just as Dean was jogging into the war room. He looked up at the top of the steps and saw Jody and Claire looking down at him, while Mike was standing behind them with Sam's hands bound behind his back.

"Get him to the infirmary," Dean growled as they all walked down the steps to him.

"What? Don't you mean the dungeon?" Jody shouted, throwing a hand out to show Dean Sam's snarling teeth and sunken eyes.

"It won't take long to make the cure," Dean responded, trying to look away from his brother.

Cass came running into the war room, sighing when he saw the state that Sam was in, "We can keep him tied up in the infirmary just as much as the dungeon."

As they walked around the back of the stairs to the door, Dean reached out and grabbed Claire's arm, holding her back for a brief moment when he saw a bruise around her neck.

"Did he..."

"He's not Sam right now," Claire said quietly, pulling the collar of her shirt up to try and hide the bruises. "It took a while for us to get him subdued."

Dean took a slow breath before he entered the room, watching as Mike and Cass struggled to tie Sam to the bed.

"Cass," Dean gestured with his head for the angel to come closer after they had successfully managed Sam.

"I'll gather the ingredients," Cass replied, knowing what Dean needed without him needing to say it out loud.

* * *

Garrett stood directly inside Ellie's closed door, listening to her yell at him with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

"Damn it Garrett, let me out! That is my father, and no one will tell me what is going on!"

"I can't let you out," Garrett sighed, finally opening his eyes. What he saw when he did almost broke his heart. Ellie had tears streaming down her cheeks, her lips a deep pink from yelling. The wetness in her eyes made her eyes look even more beautiful than normal, the gold surrounding her pupils shining in the light.

"Garrett," she choked out, stepping forward so they were toe to toe, "Please. Please."

Garrett opened his arms just in time for Ellie to fall forward into them, her face smashing into his chest as she began to sob. Even though he could easily hold her weight up, he still allowed them to fall to the ground, wrapping his arms around her back and rubbing softly.

"It's gonna be okay," he whispered, hoping desperately that he wasn't lying.

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, a little angst. Dun dun dunnnnn. Just kidding, you all know I'm a fluff master. : ) Thanks for the comments, y'all!**


	19. Chapter19

Dean stood next to Cass as they mixed the ingredients for the cure, trying to ignore the cries of pain coming from the bed behind him. He remembered from the time he had become a vampire that the process is not fun, and there's a lot of pain involved. They had already turned down the lights for him, and everyone was trying to be as quiet as possible.

"Is Ellie in her room?" Claire whispered, leaning against the counter.

"Yes," Dean responded just as quietly, "She doesn't need to see him like this."

"But what if the cure doesn't work?" Claire sighed. Dean's head snapped over to look at her, and she held her hands up defensively, "There's a chance it doesn't work, Dean. You know this."

"I'm not letting a twelve year old see this," he hissed, throwing a hand gesturing to Sam.

"You and I both know she's not a normal twelve year old," Claire shook her head, "All I'm saying is, if it doesn't work, she's never going to forgive you for not letting her say goodbye."

Dean closed his eyes and turned his head to the ceiling, having an internal struggle with himself. He shook his head and tightened his jaw, letting out a long breath.

"Did you guys at least get the guy?" he mumbled, dragging a hand down his face.

"Of course," Claire scoffed, "Luca DeBois' head is in my trunk as we speak."

"Okay, weirdo," Dean looked down at her with an eyebrow raised.

Claire shrugged, "I like to keep trophies, sue me."

"You need a therapist."

"Looks who's talking."

Dean chuckled softly before he took a deep breath and walked over to Sam's bed, his brow furrowed. He looked down at his brother and had to bite his lip to stop from tearing up, knowing the excruciating pain that Sam was experiencing.

"Sammy," he whispered, squatting next to the bed.

Sam heard Dean's blood pumping, causing his head to whip over as he stared at Dean's neck. He tried to ignore it to listen to his brother, but it was extremely difficult.

"Sam, we're almost done with the cure," he moved to reach a hand onto his brother's chest, but stopped when he realized Sam was staring at his radial artery in his wrist. He pulled his hand back quickly, sighing.

"Dean, I can't take this anymore," Sam whined, clamping his eyes shut, "It's so bad. I'm so hungry."

"I know," Dean nodded, shaking his head, "It'll all be over soon."

"And if it's not?" Dean scrunched his face up as Sam shook his head with a chuckle, "Are you prepared to do what needs to be done if it doesn't work?"

"Sammy—"

"I'm serious, Dean," Sam grunted, another wave of Dean's scent pouring over him, "You have to make sure it gets done."

"It's not going to come to that," Dean shook his head vehemently, "You're gonna be fine. You'll get a few days of sleep and then you'll wake up good as new."

"Ellie," Sam whispered so quietly that Dean almost didn't hear him.

"What about her?" Dean responded just as quietly.

"If I die, you gotta take care of her, okay?" Sam sniffed as a tear fell from his eye, "You and Cass, you gotta make sure she doesn't end up like us. Make sure that she—"

"I'm not doing this," Dean interrupted, holding up a hand, "We're not going the goodbye speech, because you're not dying."

"Dean," Sam choked out, his lips pressed tightly together, "Just…just take care of her."

Dean ignored his instincts and reached out, wrapping his hand around the back of Sam's neck and squeezing tightly.

"You're going to take care of her yourself," he tightened his jaw before pulling his hand away and turning to look at Cass, "That done yet?"

"I'm just about to add the blood," Cass responded, tilting the plastic vial and allowing the red liquid to fall into the cup. He then turned and walked over to Sam, gently mixing the drink by swirling the cup around.

"Drink up, Sammy," Dean took the cup from Cass and guided the edge of it to Sam's lips. Sam took a quick sniff and gagged, turning his head away. "Come on Sam, just chug it."

Sam took a deep breath and looked into Dean's eyes before closing his own and nodding. Dean put the edge of the cup to Sam's lips and the younger brother began chugging, every once in a while gagging but continuing to let it fall down his throat. Once it was completely gone, Sam dropped his head back for only a brief moment before the cure began to take affect, and his body jerked forward, the ties holding his wrists and ankles being pulled taut. He began making ungodly noises, then turned his head and began vomiting a mixture of black goo and blood. Jody, Claire, and Mike all stepped forward, but Dean held up a hand.

"No no, it's okay, it just means it's working," he yelled, "The same thing happened to me."

"Are you sure?" Jody asked, her face full of concern as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Yeah," Dean responded, although he wasn't so sure of himself. He stood up and watched as Sam continued vomiting violently, his brow furrowed. He turned to look at Cass, who placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll know soon if it worked," the angel gave Dean a small smile.

They all watched as Sam finished puking and began growling and yelling loudly, his vampire teeth coming out full force with his eyes going bloodshot. Just as quickly as it had started, it ended and he fell back onto the bed, his eyes drifting shut. Dean waited a beat before he stepped forward and carefully placed two fingers on his brother's neck, closing his eyes as he willed a pulse to be present.

"He's alive," he choked out, feeling that beautiful thumping from Sam's carotid artery. Claire, Jody, and Mike all turned and hugged each other, while Cass patted Dean's back.

"He's okay," Cass said reassuringly.

"It worked," Dean nodded, reaching up to wipe a stray tear from the side of his nose before he reached out and lifted Sam's lip, making sure there were no fangs to be found. He then peeled open one of his eyes, sighing when he saw a normal amount of white with no burst blood vessels.

"He needs to rest," Cass spoke softly from behind Dean, "And we need to go tend to Ellie."

Dean nodded quickly, giving Sam one last look before turning around and following Cass towards the door. He stopped at the three visitors, looking them all in the eye as he spoke.

"Thank you," he stated sincerely, nodding, "We have to go talk to Ellie, could you—"

"Go," Jody reached out and patted his arm, "We'll keep an eye on him."

Dean gave her a grateful smile before following Cass out of the room, stealing one last glance back at Sam's sleeping form.

"Are we telling her everything?" Cass asked quietly, stopping a few feet before Ellie's door.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we?" Dean crossed his arms.

"I don't know, I just want to make sure we're on the same page," Cass mumbled before he took the few steps and knocked softly on her door.

"Yeah?" They heard Garrett's voice through the wood.

"It's us," Dean spoke up, taking a few deep breathes before Garrett opened the door. Dean stepped in, looking at Garrett out the corner of his eye when he realized Ellie was laying under the covers on her bed. She noticed that her uncles had walked in and immediately sat up, her eyes wide and red from crying.

"What's going on? Is he okay? What happened?" she threw the blankets off of herself and jumped up, running to stand directly in front of Dean.

"He's fine," Dean reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders.

Ellie let out a shaky breath and wrapped her arms around herself, sniffing as she tried to hold back tears. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Cass responded, stepping next to Dean to look down at her. "He is going to be okay."

"Okay," she nodded slowly, looking down at the floor as a few tears began to fall down her cheeks. Dean watched her for a moment, and when he saw her shoulders start to shake he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her to his chest. As soon as her face hit his shirt she began to sob, her hands grasping the material tightly. Dean rubbed the back of her head, kissing her hair intermittently with his eyes closed.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Dean whispered, squeezing her shoulders as she calmed down.

She pulled her face back and wiped her cheeks, taking a deep breath, "What happened?"

"They killed Luca," Cass began, rubbing the top of her back.

"No," she turned and looked up at the angel, shaking her head, "What happened to my dad?"

"He got bit," Dean said quietly.

"By a vamp?" Garrett spoke up from where he was standing back with his arms crossed.

"Yes," Cass replied.

"Seriously?" Ellie snapped her eyes over to Dean, "He got bit? Did you give him the cure from Great Grandpa Campbell?"

"Yeah, and it worked," Dean nodded, putting his hands on his hips, "He's just sleeping now."

"I'm gonna go see him," Ellie tried to squish her way between the two men only to have them move closer so she couldn't get through.

"No, he needs to relax," Cass sighed.

"I have to see him," she whimpered, "You guys can go with me, I just need to see with my own eyes that he's okay."

Dean sighed and looked down at her as she glared at him, her lips tightened together and her eyes narrowed.

"Please," she whispered.

"Fine," Dean let out a long breath, pointing a finger at her, "But you stay next to me the entire time."

"Okay, fine," she nodded, gesturing for him to walk out of her room. Dean and Cass moved to the hallway, and just as Ellie was about to follow them Garrett grabbed her upper arm gently.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked quietly, looking down at her with a concerned expression.

"I need to do this," she shrugged, looking down at the floor. Garrett dropped his hand and nodded, then went to leave the room when Ellie grabbed his hand.

"Ellie?" he whispered, turning his head to look at her.

"Could you come with me?" she asked, her eyelashes extra dark from her tears as she looked up at him through them.

"Of course," he stepped forward and smiled down at her.

"Hey, you coming?" Dean yelled from the hallway, peeking his head in and witnessing the brief moment between the two young people. While he wanted to glare at Garrett when he realized that they were holding hands, he felt a smile creeping up on his face.

"Yeah, we're coming," Garrett responded without breaking eye contact with Ellie.

As they walked into the infirmary, Jody and Claire immediately walked over to Ellie and each gave her a hug.

"How you doing, sweetie?" Jody grabbed Ellie's face as she pulled her head away after her hug.

"I'm okay," Ellie smiled at her as Jody rubbed her thumb along her cheek. She leaned over to look around Jody's shoulder when she realized that her father was tied to a bed across the room. She drew a sharp breath and pushed off of her back foot swiftly to try and run towards him, but Dean recognized her movement and grabbed her upper arm tightly.

"Slow down," he said quietly, looking down at her.

She huffed out a quick breath and nodded, allowing him to move his hand around her shoulders and guide her towards the bed. As they got closer, Sam began to stir slowly, causing Dean to tighten his grip on Ellie. Sam blinked a few times, his eyes squinting from the light.

"Hey baby," his voice was all raspy as he reached up and rubbed his face with the one hand they had untied.

"Are you feeling okay?" Ellie whispered, taking a small step closer to the bed.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," he waved his hand at her with a small smile, "Don't worry about me."

"I told you to be careful," she gave him a small half smile and crossed her arms as she looked down at him.

"I know," he tightened his jaw, his eyes drooping and his brow furrowing.

"Oh wow, seriously?" Ellie snorted, shaking her head, "You're giving me the puppy dog eyes?"

"Where'd you think you got it from?" Dean chuckled from behind her. Ellie smiled and moved to sit on the bed next to her father. She reached a hand towards his face, and Sam flinched away from her, a frightened look on his face.

"Ellie," he whispered.

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him, "Dad. Do you have any urge to bite me?"

Sam shook his head quickly, his face scrunched up.

"Then I'm not scared," Ellie leaned forward and whispered before resting her hand on his head, her fingers carding through his hair slowly. Sam closed his eyes and let her play with his hair, breathing slowly.

"You hate it when I mess with your hair," Sam said quietly as Dean and Cass moved towards Jody and Claire, giving Ellie and Sam a moment alone.

"No I don't," she chuckled softly to herself, looking down at the mattress.

"What?" Sam cocked an eyebrow as she continued pushing his hair away from his face.

"I don't hate it," she mumbled, shrugging. Sam smiled up at her, then closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment until she finally pulled her hand away. "You need more sleep."

"Be good," he said quietly as she stood up from the bed.

"Never," she responded, shooting him a quick wink before turning and walking over to the group of people across the room.

"You good?" Garrett muttered as she moved to stand next to him, nudging her shoulder with his elbow.

She looked up at him and smiled, sighing loudly, "Yeah, I'm good."

"Thanks for everything," Dean spoke to Jody and Claire, pulling each one into a quick but strong hug.

"You're welcome," Jody smiled before letting out a deep breath and looking over at Sam, "Let us know if you guys need anything else."

"We will," Cass replied with a smile.

"And hey," Dean spoke up as the two women walked towards the door, "We'll see you on the fifth for Ellie's birthday, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Claire responded as Jody nodded. "See ya."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey y'all! So I've finished this story, there's one more chapter after this one. But guess what? I've already written three chapters of the third installment in this Ellie series! I'll be linking it at the end of the next chapter, of course. : )**

* * *

Sam woke up around noon the next day and stretched his arms above his head, realizing that he was completely untied. He slowly sat up and bent his waist side to side, working out the many kinks from laying in the same position for so long. He sighed loudly and stood up before walking towards the door to try and find Ellie.

He walked out into the war room, looking around for any hint of a person. It was almost eerily quiet as he walked up the steps into the library, then went down the hallway towards the kitchen. He decided he would get something to eat before looking any further and moved to the fridge.

He thought about the events that had occurred just in the last month. Aside from the hunting problems, with the werewolf hunt and the recent vampires, Sam also had to worry about Ellie's birthday in a few days and her interesting relationship with Garrett. Sam sighed as he shook the bag of cut lettuce into the bowl.

Garrett.

Sam liked the kid, he really did. It bothered him a little bit that he was over a year older than Ellie, and almost an entire head taller than her, but he really seemed to make her happy. Dean had been texting him pictures of Ellie and Garrett while he was out on the hunt, informing him of the events that were occurring. He wasn't too happy when he heard that Dean and Cass had caught them sleeping on the couch together, but he also wasn't too worried about Ellie doing anything in the realm of...sex...yet.

Dear God.

Sam shook his head as he thought of the next several years, his heart pounding in his chest as he thought about Ellie wanting to do things with boys. He knew that it would happen eventually, but Sam was secretly praying that she wouldn't become interested in those things until she was an adult.

With Dean as her uncle? Yeah right.

* * *

"I just don't understand why I can't wear my normal clothes for this, Dean."

"Because you can't play basketball in a trench coat, Cass."

The angel huffed as the two of them walked into the gym, watching as Ellie and Garrett stretched near the edge of the room.

"I just don't like the way these shorts make my...nether regions feel," Cass wiggled his hips a little to try and readjust inconspicuously.

"Dude, TMI," Dean rolled his eyes, "And that's why we told you to get boxer briefs when we went to buy you those damn shorts."

Cass grumbled and sighed as they walked up to Ellie and Garrett.

"Alright, how are we doing teams?" Dean clapped his hands together.

"I call dibs on Garrett," Ellie raised one hand excitedly, the other holding the basketball on her hip.

"What? Why?" Dean placed his hands on his hips, his face showing a hurt expression, "You and I are always on a team, Squirt."

"Because," she raised her eyebrows and turned towards Garrett, her hand sweeping up and down to show off his height, "Look at him!"

"Wow, Ellie. Assuming that just because I'm tall I'm good at basketball is stereotyping, and rude, and," Garrett paused, reaching out to snatch the ball off of her hip. He did a fancy dribble and jumped, sinking a perfect three pointer. He threw his arms out to the side and gave her a cocky grin, "Also completely accurate."

"Oh yeah, dibs on Garrett," Ellie laughed, walking over and high-fiving him.

"Fine, I guess I'm stuck with Cass," Dean moaned before jogging to grab the ball.

"I'm not that bad at basketball, Dean," Cass mumbled.

"Hey, no angel mojo this time," Ellie poked a finger at his chest.

"Oh," Cass groaned, "Fine."

* * *

Sam finished the massive salad he had made and was wandering around the bunker, trying to figure out where everyone had gone. He was on his way to the garage to see if the impala was missing when he heard yelling coming from the gym. He walked to the door and peeked in the small window, smiling when he saw all four of them running around. He watched from the hallway for a moment, chuckling when Dean passed Cass the ball and the angel missed it, causing Garrett to grab it and be able to score. The young man and Ellie ran towards each other, high-fiving and smiling before assuming defensive positions. Garrett was covering Dean as the older man walked backwards dribbling when Sam finally opened the door.

Ellie heard the creak of the door and snapped her head around, a wide smile appearing on her face when she realized where the sound was coming from.

"Dad," she called out, running towards him and launching into a massive hug. Sam grunted as she ran into him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"How are you feeling, Sam?" Cass asked as Sam and Ellie walked over to the court.

"I feel great," he chuckled, looking down at Ellie with an arm around her shoulders.

"You wanna play?" Dean smiled, "You can take Cass' spot."

"Rude, Dean," the angel responded.

"No, I'm fine," Sam held his hands up as Ellie walked over and grabbed the ball from Dean, earning her a quick glare from her uncle. "You guys keep playing, I'll keep score."

The game quickly resumed, and Ellie and Garrett were winning by quite a few points when they all heard someone's phone ringing. Dean held up his hands in a T position as he reached into his shorts pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Sammy, take over for me," Dean waved his hand as he walked to the edge of the room, pressing the screen to answer the call. Sam nodded and walked onto the court directly in front of Garrett. The younger man looked at the much larger adult, his eyes widening. Although he was only an inch or two shorter, Sam easily had close to a hundred pounds on Garrett.

"Can we forfeit?" Garrett turned and looked at Ellie.

"No," she whined, "He actually stinks at basketball, you'll be fine."

"Hey," Sam turned and glared at her.

"Oh stop," Ellie rolled her eyes with a smile, "You know you suck."

"Still," Sam grumbled, turning back to Garrett.

Dean put his phone up to his ear, "Hey Garth."

"Hey Dean, it's Garth."

Dean closed his eyes and turned his head up to the ceiling, "What's up?"

"Well I know that Luca got killed, thank goodness, so I figured y'all probably want me to come and get Garrett?"

Dean took a deep breath and turned back to the game. Ellie had just maneuvered around Cass and scored, and she ran up to Garrett and squealed with laughter when he wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, spinning her in circles as Sam and Cass watched and chuckled.

"Hold on a sec, Garth," Dean lowered his phone, covering the bottom of it with his hand, "Hey Garrett."

Garrett immediately dropped Ellie, his eyes widening. "Yeah?"

"You uh...you wanna stick around until Ellie's birthday?"

"Um," Garrett paused, trying to determine if this was some sort of test, or trick, "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Sounds good," Dean nodded, then waved for them to continue the game as he put his phone back up to his ear, "Hey if it's alright, the kid wants to hang out here until Ellie's birthday."

"Oh, okay," Garth responded excitedly, "The kiddos are hitting it off, huh?"

"Yeah," Dean scoffed, "You could say that."

* * *

A few hours later, Dean and Cass were sitting in the kitchen nursing a few beers when Garrett popped his head in, turning to look around the room.

"Have either of you seen Sam?"

"Not recently," Dean shrugged, "I think he was gonna go take a shower."

"Why?" Cass asked, turning in his seat as Garrett slowly walked fully into the room, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"I just need to ask him for a favor," he mumbled.

"Is it something we could help you with?" Cass asked quietly.

Garrett looked up from the floor and shrugged, "I guess."

"Okay?" Dean shook his head sarcastically, holding a hand out, "What is it?"

"I just need, um," Garrett began, biting the insides of his cheeks as he slowly moved towards the table, "I need a ride to the store."

Dean raised an eyebrow and stared at the young man for a minute, watching as Garrett shifted his weight awkwardly between his feet, looking around the room nervously. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask him to elaborate, Ellie walked in behind him.

"Hey guys," she spoke cheerfully, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water.

Dean watched as Garrett became obviously more nervous, turning his head to flash her a quick smile before looking back to the floor. Suddenly the parts all clicked and Dean sighed, taking the last swing of his beer before standing up.

"Come on, kid," Dean walked by Garrett and gently pushed on his shoulder.

"What?" He turned and looked at him with his eyebrows raised. Ellie turned from the fridge, looking at her uncle over the bottle of water at her lips.

"Let's go," Dean sighed, grabbing the back of Garrett's shirt and yanking him towards the garage.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked, rushing forward.

"Gar and I are going for a drive."

"What? Why?" She continued to follow them down the hallway, jogging to keep up with their long legs.

"Don't worry about it," Dean turned and held his hands up on her shoulders, stopping her from coming into the garage.

"It's okay, El," Garrett leaned around Dean's shoulder and gave her a quick smile. Her gaze flickered from Garrett to Dean, and she crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Fine," she muttered, slowly turning around and walking down the hallway, sneaking one last look back before the garage door closed.

* * *

Garrett sat in the front seat of the impala, his hands resting on his thighs as he intermittently looked at Dean out of the corner of his eye.

"Any idea of what you're getting her?"

Garrett froze, his heart rate increasing as he tensed, "Wha-what?"

Dean sighed dramatically, "I know you want to go to the store to get Ellie a birthday present."

"What...how..."

"I have eyes, kid," Dean scoffed, "That's how."

"Oh," Garrett bit his lips, turning to look out the window, "I uh, I'm not completely sure what I want to get her."

"Well we'll go to the mall in Salina then," Dean sighed, "I'm sure we'll be able to find something there."

"Okay," Garrett nodded.

"What are your ideas?"

"What?" he turned and looked at the hunter.

"You said you weren't completely sure, so you must have some ideas."

"It's nothing," Garrett shook his head, shifting in his seat, "It's stupid."

"Listen Garrett," Dean sighed, ignoring the young man's head whipping over at the use of his real name, "I know that we've had our, uh...disagreements."

"You mean when you threatened to cut off my junk?"

"It's in the past," Dean waved a hand, "Point is, you could give Ellie a rock for her birthday and she'd love it. So. Tell me."

"I was thinking," Garrett took a deep breath, tilting his head as he looked down at his hands, "Maybe a bracelet or something?"

Dean fought the smile that creeped up on his face, clearing his throat. He remembered what it was like to be fourteen, and to want to impress a girl. He knew exactly what was going through Garrett's mind.

"Sounds good," Dean replied quietly, looking at Garrett out of the corner of his eye while he allowed himself to smile.

* * *

Several hours later, Sam and Ellie were working on deciding what to have for dinner when Sam's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it when he realized his brother was calling.

"Hey Dean."

"Sammy, hey. Garrett and I got Chinese. We'll be home in five."

"Oh, okay," Sam scrunched his face up in confusion, then snapped his fingers to get Ellie's attention and shaking a flat palm against his neck to tell her to stop looking through the fridge.

"Can you distract Squirt though?"

"What?"

"We gotta sneak some stuff into my room."

"Oh," Sam said quietly, "Okay, just shoot me a text when you're pulling in."

Sam ended the call and turned around, jumping when he realized Ellie was standing directly him with her arms crossed.

"What's going on?"

"Hmm?" Sam raised his eyebrows, shaking his head, "Nothing."

"You're such a bad liar," she narrowed her eyes up at him.

"Hush," Sam poked her forehead, moving her back. "El, I want to tell you something."

"Okay?" She asked, raised an eyebrow.

"It's about Garrett."

"Dad," Ellie groaned, turning around and walking to the table and sitting down.

"Oh stop," he waved a hand at her, "I just...I should've told you this when he first got here, but I didn't want anything to worry about, and—"

"What are you talking about?" Ellie asked, her brow furrowed as she leaned forward onto her elbows on the table.

"Garrett doesn't have a girlfriend," Sam sighed.

"Oh," Ellie chuckled, looking down at her hands. "I already knew that."

"What? You did?" Sam said loudly, "How do you know that?"

"Um, he told me?" Ellie shrugged with a smile, "Like the second night he was here."

"Seriously?" Sam put his hands on his hips.

"Yes Dad," Ellie rolled her eyes and slid off of the chair, moving to stand in front of him. "I'm not even thirteen, did you think that I was going to be kissing him and crap as soon as I found out?"

"I," Sam paused, looking down at her with a scrunched up face, "I don't know. You're not a normal kid."

"Thanks?" she chuckled, shaking her head. "You don't have to worry about me and Garrett, Dad. We're just friends."

"Okay," Sam sighed, biting his lips as he felt a buzz in his pocket. He took out his phone and saw it was a text from Dean. "Hey, you want to go do some shooting?"

Ellie's eyes immediately brightened as she involuntarily bounced on the balls of her feet, holding back a squeak.

"Wait, I'm still grounded until next week," she narrowed her eyes at him again, "Is this a joke? Because if so, it's mean."

"No," Sam rolled his eyes, "I just know that with everything that's been going on, you've had a rough couple days."

"So," she drawled out, a small smile forming on her face, "I'm ungrounded?"

"Yes, Ellie," Sam sighed, "Your ungrounded."

"Thank you," she squealed, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around his waist for a quick squeeze before running out of the kitchen towards the range.

"Wait for me," Sam called after her, shaking his head with a chuckle, "I'm going to regret this."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I can't believe it's already the end! Here it is, the final chapter of I Like Me Better! Make sure you look at the end, because I'll have the new installment linked there! **

* * *

Two days later, everyone was walking to the den about to watch the newest Avengers movie when Ellie stopped in the hallway, grabbing Garrett's wrist and pulling him back. He stopped and looked at her, then quickly glanced back at the three men who were all poised in the doorway of the den waiting for them.

"I just want to talk to Garrett for a minute," Ellie waved them off. Sam and Cass both nodded and entered the den, while Dean stayed in his spot and crossed his arms. Ellie was about to glare at him when her father reached out from within the room and grabbed the front of Dean's shirt, yanking him in through the doorway.

"What's up?" Garrett put his hands in his pockets, looking down at her.

"I just," she sighed, smiling, "I want to make sure that we're on the same page here."

Garrett raised an eyebrow, tilting his head, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Ellie paused, looking at the floor, "I just think we should be friends, you know?"

"Of course," Garrett nodded, pursing his lips out, "We're on the same page."

"Okay good," she sighed as Garrett turned and took a small step towards her.

"Or at least," he said quietly, reaching up and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, "We're on the same page for now."

"What?" Ellie muttered, looking up at his bright blue eyes.

"We're too young to be dating," Garrett shrugged, "But it won't be like that forever."

"Well I don't think that I'll ever like you like that," Ellie replied cockily, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Mhmm," Garrett responded, a smirk on his face, "Me either."

"Good," She whispered, clearing her throat when her voice sounded a little squeaky. "Let's um...let's go watch the movie."

"Sounds good," Garrett grinned, moving to the side and extending his arm, giving a small bow as she walked past him. Ellie rolled her eyes and pushed on the back of his head, making him fall forward before she ran into the den.

* * *

The next morning, Ellie woke up to the sound of whispering. She moaned and rolled onto her back, stretching her arms above her head. She sighed loudly and dropped her hands to her face, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Once she was upright she slowly opened her eyes and screamed.

"Happy birthday!"

Ellie jumped so high she almost fell off her bed when she saw her father, uncles, and Garrett all standing in her room. They each had a bright blue party hat on and noise makers hanging out of their mouths, while Dean had a tray of a delicious looking breakfast in his hands.

"What are you guys doing?" Ellie groaned with a smile, grabbing the edge of her blanket and moving to pull it off of her legs.

"No no," Sam rushed over and swatted her hand, stopping her from getting out of bed. "You're getting breakfast in bed."

Dean got the hint and walked over, placing the tray full of her favorite breakfast foods—including a mound of bacon—on her lap.

"Breakfast a la Dean," he bowed as he walked backwards. "Happy birthday, Squirt."

Cass stepped forward and placed a single rose on the tray, smiling down at her. "I may have stolen this flower out of a garden down the road."

"Thanks guys," Ellie blushed as she looked around at them. "This is awesome."

"Happy birthday, baby girl," Sam whispered before leaning down and placing a wet kiss on her forehead. "Now eat and get dressed, we let you sleep in pretty late and people are gonna be getting here in about an hour."

"What?" Ellie shouted through a mouthful of bacon, "I have to take a shower and stuff."

"Don't worry, you'll have time," Dean chuckled. "Don't eat fast, you have to enjoy that amazing breakfast I made you."

They all started leaving her room, but Sam stopped in the doorway. "Oh, and per the tradition, there's a dress from Rowena hanging in your closet to wear today."

Ellie smiled as she stuffed a huge bite of chocolate chip waffles into her mouth. Every year since her first birthday she had spent at the bunker, Rowena had brought her a new outfit to wear for her party. It was always perfect, and Ellie was more than excited to see what style it would be this year.

* * *

A little over an hour later, and everyone had arrived for the party. Alex and Claire were sitting on one side of a table, with Mike and Jody on the other side, little Annie sitting on Jody's lap. Garth and Bess were standing along the wall with their arms around each other as they laughed at something Rowena said. Crowley was sitting at the other table next to Cass, discussing the recent vampire incident in great detail. Sam was leaning against the doorway from the library to the war room, watching all of the interactions when Dean walked in with the cake.

"Damn I'm good," Dean said as he placed the cake on the table. It was a simple chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, Ellie's favorite. Sam walked over and looked down at the dessert, nodding with his lips pursed out.

"Looks good," Sam reached out and tried to swipe a bit of the frosting onto his finger, only to have Dean smack his hand.

"You ruin this cake, I'll break your nose."

Garrett walked into the library, pulling at the button up that he was wearing. It had taken the three men a while to figure out something nice for Garrett to wear, since he was almost as tall as Sam but much skinnier. They finally landed on one of Cass' plain white button ups, and it was just a hair too short for his abdomen.

"I'm gonna go see how much longer she'll be," Sam smiled at the guests as he walked down the hallway to Ellie's room. When he got to her door he knocked gently, "It's me, El."

"Come in."

Sam turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open, sighing when he realized she was facing the opposite wall, staring at her mirror.

"You ready?" He asked, rubbing his hands on his thighs as he walked closer to her.

Ellie nodded and turned around, a small smile on her face. Sam felt the air leave his lungs as he looked at her, and he swallowed loudly. The dress Rowena had bought for her was navy blue and cut to just above her knees, with small cap sleeves. It was covered in black lace, and there was a black ribbon around her waist and tied off to the side, accentuating her quickly narrowing waist. She had brushed her hair immediately after getting out of the shower, so her usually unruly waves were soft and beautiful. She had even put on a little bit of mascara, bringing out the sharpness in her eyes. As much as Sam hated to admit it, she looked really grown up.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked, looking down at herself, "Do I look stupid?"

"No," Sam answered quickly, rushing forward to her. He grabbed her cheeks and looked her in the eyes, a proud smile on his face. "You look stunning."

"Oh stop," Ellie blushed and tried to pull back out of his hands.

"Ellie," Sam said quietly, rubbing his thumb on her cheek, "You are growing into such an amazing young woman, do you know that?"

"Thanks, Dad," she smiled, reaching up to cover his hands with her own. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"Love you most," she whispered before he leaned down and kissed her nose. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, while he pulled her into a tight hug. They stayed like that for a moment before Sam bent his head and rubbed his chin on her neck, making her squeal.

"I had to, I'm sorry," he laughed as she shoved his chest. "Now come on, birthday girl; let's go."

As Sam and Ellie walked down the hallway talking and playfully shoving each other, they both stopped when they heard a strange noise. Ellie turned her head and saw Garrett standing in the doorway to the war room, swallowing loudly.

"Was that you?" she chuckled, raising her eyebrows.

"Um, yeah, I just..." he trailed off, walking slowly towards her and paying no attention to Sam as he looked her up and down, "You look...amazing. I mean, you always do, but like, as a friend, you know, but right now you look-"

"Just tell her she looks pretty," Sam closed his eyes and shook his head with a small smile, remembering what it was like to be that age.

"Pretty doesn't even do it justice," Garrett sighed, making Ellie blush as she bit her bottom lip with a smile.

"Thanks Garrett," she whispered, glancing down at her feet before slowly allowing her gaze to creep up to meet his, her hazel eyes shining through her extraordinarily long eyelashes. Garrett took a deep breath when they made eye contact, then sighed dramatically.

"Alright, let's go," Sam rolled his eyes and took a step forward, turning Garrett around and pushing him towards the war room before he and Ellie followed.

* * *

Ellie enjoyed all of her presents, especially the key to hell that Crowley gave her. Rowena gave her the spell book from a few weeks previous, in addition to a book of love spells which made Ellie blush and shoot a look over to Sam. Jody has bought her some new clothes, as well as a new throwing knife. Claire gave her an empty pistol case, promising that once she got her CPL it would be filled with a new handgun much to Sam's chagrin. Alex gave her some new makeup and clothes, and a 'hunter's first aid kit' she put together. Garth and Bess brought her a funny tee shirt that said 'in my defense the moon was full and I was left unsupervised' which earned a laugh from the whole group.

She couldn't stop smiling after she opened her gift from Sam, Dean, and Cass; it was a duffel bag full of hunter's gear. From a multitude of blades and lore books and even brass knuckles and her very own angel blade that Cass had her name engraved into.

"When you turn eighteen I'll add a grenade launcher," Dean chuckled, making everyone in the room laugh.

Ellie thought that was her last gift, so she moved to stand up but Sam held out a hand, pointing to one more small box on the table that was hiding behind one of the bags she had already opened. She raised an eyebrow and leaned over, grabbing the box and giving it a quick shake.

"Who is this from?" She asked, looking around the room.

"That's mine," Garrett raised his hand meekly from the corner of the room where he was leaning against the wall.

"Oh," Ellie tried to fight the blush that was creeping up her cheeks, carefully pulling the piece of twine that was wrapped around the box. She lifted the top and pushed the tissue paper aside, gasping when she saw what was inside.

It was a simple silver charm bracelet with three charms. Ellie pulled it out of the box, holding it out in her hands as she looked at it closer. One charm had a simple 'W' in a heart, presumably for 'Winchester', the second charm was an eight ball, and the last charm was the Instagram symbol. When she realized this she looked up at him with her head tilted to the side in confusion.

"It's how we first met," Garrett said quietly shrugging as the adults in the room looked back and forth between him and Ellie.

"I love it," Ellie looked back down to the bracelet, tightening her lips together in a smile. She looked up at him again with her eyebrows raised, "Can you help me put it on?"

Garrett nodded and tried not to look too obvious as he rushed across the room, taking the chain from her and wrapping it carefully around her wrist. He clasped it after a few tries and smiled down at her.

"Thanks Garrett," Ellie said quietly, pulling her lips between her teeth as she looked up at him.

"You're welcome," he shrugged, clearing his throat when he saw Dean looking at him with his eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face.

* * *

After everyone finished their cake, they all started saying goodbye. Ellie stood at the bottom of the stairs in the war room giving out hugs and thanks as the guests walked out. Garth and Bess were the last ones to leave, with Garrett close behind them with his bag over his shoulder. He dropped his bag once Ellie had hugged Garth and Bess, and stuck his hand out. Ellie looked down at his hand, then back up to his face with an eyebrow cocked.

"Glad we're friends," he sighed.

Ellie narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips before smacking his hand to the side and rushing forward into his chest. Garrett froze for a moment, looking at the three men that were standing behind her. Sam shrugged, Cass smiled, and Dean nodded, so Garrett let him arms wrap around her shoulders and tightly squeeze.

"Text me," Ellie whispered before pulling away.

"I might," Garrett shrugged with a cocky smile.

Ellie shoved his shoulder with a chuckle, "Ass."

"Brat."

Ellie watched as Garrett walked up the stairs, then sighed as she turned around. The three men were all standing with their arms crossed and their eyebrows raised.

"Shut up," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"You're really gonna miss him, huh?" Dean teased, biting his bottom lip to stop from laughing.

"I hate you," she moaned, pushing past him.

"Go change into some pajamas, it's time for your birthday movie night," Sam pulled her into his side and kissed the top of her head.

"Okay," Ellie sighed and walked down the hall.

"I'll go make some popcorn," Cass added, following her. Dean was about to walk behind the angel when Sam reaches out and grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"What?" Dean turned and looked at his brother.

"Garrett told me," Sam slid his hands into his pockets.

"Told you what?"

Sam tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, tightening his lips together. "About the bracelet."

"Oh," Dean mumbled, looking down at his shoes as he rubbed a heel on the floor. "Look, he was just a couple bucks short—"

"Seventy-five?"

Dean pursed his lips and slowly looked up at his brother, "The kid had enough money for the chain, he just needed some help for the charms."

"I just can't believe you helped him," Sam shook his head with a chuckle.

"He really likes Ellie," Dean sighed, looking at Sam with a serious look on his face. "You know we're going to have problems eventually, right?"

"Oh, I knew the minute they started that whole 'brat-ass' thing."

* * *

When the movie—The Kissing Booth, which Ellie picked—finished, all of the males stood up except Cass, who currently had a sleeping Ellie leaning on his shoulder. He looked down at her with a smile and reached his head down, kissing her hair.

"You want me to wake her up?" Dean groaned as he got off the opposite end of the couch, stretching.

"No, don't," Sam interrupted, holding a hand out. He looked down at his sleeping daughter and nodded before leaning down and scooping his hands under her knees and behind her shoulders. He pulled her up into his arms, gesturing at Dean to open the door.

Sam walked to her bedroom and carefully walked in, shushing her when she started to stir in his arms. He laid her down on her bed, grateful for once that she hadn't made her bed so he was able to place her directly on the sheets and pull the blankets over her. She rolled onto her side, facing him and rubbing her face on her pillow with her eyes closed.

"Good night, baby," Sam whispered and leaned down, kissing her forehead. He was almost at the door when he heard her sleepy voice.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?" he walked back towards her bed where she still had her eyes closed.

"You know I'm never going to leave you, right?"

Sam took a deep breath and sat on her mattress, running his fingers through her hair. "You'll leave me someday, El."

"No," she murmured, rubbing her face into her pillow again, "I won't."

"Okay, Ellie. Go back to sleep now," he chuckled softly, pulling his hand away from her head. He wanted to believe that what she was saying was true, but he knew that eventually she would want to go out on her own.

"Wait, can you keep doing it?" she asked, her voice so quiet and small it reminded him of when she was little. He let out a long breath and smiled, moving his hand to continue playing with her hair.

"Happy birthday," he whispered.

"I promise Dad, I'm never going to leave the bunker," Ellie slurred as sleep began to take over her once again, "Because I like me better when I'm with you."

* * *

**A/N: The end! The third installment is called Bird Set Free, the link is below! I'm so excited for you all to continue to follow Ellie's story! A huge THANK YOU to my followers and reviewers, you all make my muse speak to me! : )**

s/13492750/1/Bird-Set-Free


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